The Insider Archive
Olympics as Catalyst for Great Design
Innovation Matters, Volume 3, Issue 2 - February 2, 2010
The world is on the brink of Vancouver 2010, ready to watch more than 80 nations and 5,500 athletes compete for achievements that lifetimes have been dedicated to. The Olympics have always been more than incredible physical feats. They are a boom for the host city's economy, a unification of warring countries, and an education on sportsmanship. The Olympics have also been a catalyst for great design and new advancements in technology. Vancouver is no exception. Incredible design can be seen this year from the medals, to the Olympic website, and the torch.
Medals
The medals for the 2010 Olympics are works of art, symbols of sustainability, and reminders of nature's beauty. Their creators, Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel, collaboratively designed the medals to mirror the landscape and heritage of British Columbia, with undulating curves and laser etchings of the Aboriginal depictions of the orca whale and the raven. Not only is each medal totally unique, but the materials come from recycled circuit boards and computer parts. With the world watching, athletes will be presented with these upcycled priceless trophies of sustainability. The emotion and symbolism contained in these medals is beyond those awarded at any Olympics before and elevates the standards of design and sustainability for future games. A moving video is available on the official site of the Olympics. Watch here.
Website
This is the first Olympic Games to be broadcast on television as well as streamed live online. The website was designed with the notion that much of the world will be experiencing the games solely or primarily through the website. Not only is the branding through color and imagery clear, the navigation makes it easy to access the various sports through the website. The website emphasizes the content of viewing the games, over press information and static facts about the athletes and the location that was the primary focus of previous Olympic websites.
The site also incorporates multimedia for those interested in the story beyond the games including streaming video, podcasts, torch tracking, cultural artworks and social media links. By no means is the site revolutionary in the world of design, but its clean and clear branding and navigation mark a high point in Olympic websites thus far.
Torch
The technology behind the torch is always fascinating. The concept that people of the world carry one flame across countries is inspiring as well as complicated. Coca Cola's sponsorship of the games is completely sustainable; meaning everything with their logo is created out of recycled or reused products. This includes the Torchbearer uniforms. Recycled bottles created the fabric which was originally not warm enough for bearers, but, with Coke's funding, the fabric was reworked for greater warmth. The torch was designed to reflect the landscape and scenic beauty found in Whistler and Vancouver.
The torch itself is modern and curved, again mirroring the mountain landscape of the Vancouver region. The torch weighs 1.6 kg (about 3.5 lbs) and is 95% composed of materials and technology made or designed in Canada. Also interesting is the technology powering the torch camera. The Olympic Committee sought to film and stream the torch each step of the way and originally did not have the technology to accomplish this fete. Engineers went to work and the result is near-broadcast quality video using a software and hardware configuration combining several cell phone network frequencies and any available Wi-Fi bandwidth. The torch has GPS built in as well and its caravan of followers are tweeting in English and French as well as Facebook chatting about the journey.
A Look Ahead
London 2012 is already making waves with new designs. A team of architects and engineers have banded together to create the Cloud, a duo of towers topped with floating digital displays that collect and broadcast Olympic events information, as well as worldwide news and weather. This project is revolutionary on many levels including its visual impact on visitors, its sustainable design that harvests energy to operate the Cloud from visitors who walk or bike to the observation deck and its financing structure that relies on "cloudraising" or fundraising to sponsor the project. The size of the Cloud will be reliant on the level of support it receives from online donators and Google has provided advertising support for the project. For more information on this exciting project, visit www.raisethecloud.org, www.facebook.com/raisethecloud or www.twitter.com/raisethecloud.
As we explore design in the global arena of the Olympics, we see a unique opportunity for members of the Creative Economy to come together and provide the technology and services necessary to develop revolutionary design advances in support of the Olympics and its creed of calling for personal excellence. As the Olympic athletes strive to be their best and achieve their personal goals, members of the Creative Economy are also striving to be their best by communicating the Olympic messages of personal excellence and by designing the technology to distribute these stories of excellence around the globe.