BLOG: The Rio 2016 logo controversy just got even bigger.

When it was originally unveiled a few days ago, IOC President Jacques Rogge described the design as being "very innovative and creative."

Not everyone shared that view and almost immediately it was being compared with the logo of a small American organisation in Colorado called the Telluride Foundation. Their logo was uncannily similar (with 4 joined figures rather than 3) and the story quickly became one of how close the two identities were.

Tatil, the Rio agency that created the 2016 identity, claimed they were unaware of the Telluride logo and said they had carried out extensive research to ensure the originality of their design. Most people appeared happy to accept this and their comments on various design blogs continued to be based around whether or not they liked the Rio logo, as well as comparing it with the London 2012 ident or Matisse's famous painting 'The Dance'.

At this point, one might have thought the initial controversy would have died down. However, a further revelation came to light which will require a lot more explaining away by the designers of both the Rio and the Telluride Foundation identities.

It turns out that the Telluride Foundation logo itself was far from original. Indeed, its four figures holding hands identity was lifted straight from another logo (without even as much as changing the shape) And this is where the story really takes off. The logo that Telluride Foundation ripped off dates back to 2004, which means it's been in the public domain for over six years. But what is so incredible is it's the logo for a huge carnival that was held in...yes, you guessed it...Brasil!

That throws Tatil's defence of its design completely out the window, as well as casting aspersions on whomever 'designed' the Telluride Foundation's logo.

This is a very big deal. After all, the Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world and a huge amount of money is made on the back of using the event's identity on a vast array of merchandise.

It calls into question the integrity of design agencies (big and small) and goes way beyond whether one likes or dislikes a brand identity.

It will be interesting to see what happens next, how Tatil will respond to charges of plagiarism and whether the IOC or Rio 2016 will decide to scrap the current logo and start again.

Take a look at all logos mentioned here at the Logo Factory's blog which is where I first saw the Carnaval 2004 ident http://bit.ly/fiYBtG

Also check out the Copeland Communications blog where I first posted my comment on the Carnaval 2004 logo http://bit.ly/ekQPrQ

And finally, here's a link to the original Carnaval 2004 Salvador do Brasil website http://bit.ly/gcnLBe

#Olympics

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