Design:
Client: Edmonton Commonwealth Games
Date: 1978
Designers always tend to collect the most interesting items such as this mug from the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton 1978. During a recent trip to Edmonton, I had coffee with friends and uncovered these fantastic images from the collection Kevin and Rebecca Dieterman.
- John Greg Ball
Add comment August 17th, 2010
Design:
Client: Coca-Cola Canada
Date: 2010
Add comment March 15th, 2010
Design: VANOC
Client:
Date: 2010
2 comments March 3rd, 2010
Design:
Client: Google.ca
Date: 2010
Add comment February 28th, 2010
Design: Greg Durrell
Client:
Date: 2004
Add comment February 28th, 2010
Design: Gottschalk+Ash International
Client: Toronto Olympic Committee
Date: 1990
This rare poster for the Toronto ’96 Olympics Bid features the campaign’s slogan ‘Meeting Place on a Great Lake’.
(Via www.OlympianArtifacts.com)
3 comments February 28th, 2010
Design: Gottschalk+Ash International
Client: Toronto Olympic Committee
Date: 1990
This softcover book for Toronto’s ’96 Olympics bid features a toned down version of the Toronto ’96 Bid Logo.
(Via www.OlympianArtifacts.com)
Add comment February 28th, 2010
Design: unknown
Client: Garibaldi Olympic Development Association
Date: 1961
In 1966, after six years of construction and development Garibaldi Lifts Limited (a for profit sister company to Garibaldi Olympic Development Association) opened a skiing lodge with gondolas, T-bars and a double chair in Whistler. But long before any amenities were in place, GODA was already generating support for an official Olympic bid.
This postcard shows a kinetic oil pastel rendering of a skier and a figure skater, as well as an early iteration of Garibaldi’s bid logo, featuring a stylized torch sitting atop a bold slab-serif G.
Unfortunately GODA’s efforts were unsuccessful, and they lost the Canadian nomination to Calgary, Alberta; which in turn lost to Mexico City (which features some of this author’s favourite non-Canadian Olympic designs).
(Via Whistler Museum & Archives Society)
1 comment February 28th, 2010
Design:
Client: Garibaldi Olympic Development Association
Date: 1960
In 1960 a group of Vancouver businessmen formed the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association and began the long process of cultivating the remote mountain range we now know as Whistler Blackcomb. With minimal road access, no sewage or hydro and no lifts or lodges, Whistler was a far cry from the world class skiing resort it is now. This artist’s rendition, dated 1960, of what Whistler could someday be was instrumental in inspiring support for development of the area.
(Via Whistler Museum & Archives Society)
1 comment February 28th, 2010
Designer:
Client: Montreal Olympic Committee
Date: 1970
This Bid Book for the XXth Olympiade in 1972 features a photograph depicting Montreal as a bustling metropolis, starkly contrasted by the regal styling of the typography which says “Montréal Invites and is Ready”. For those who attended elementary school in Canada, the layout and design of this cover closely resembles the Royal portrait seen at the front entrance of public schools throughout the country.
(Via www.OlympianArtifacts.com)
Add comment February 28th, 2010
Design: Gottschalk+Ash International
Client: Toronto Olympic Committee
Date: 1990
With Gottschalk+Ash International taking the reins on the design of the proposal, the over-arching theme of the creative was celebration, energy and vitality. Though the Toronto bid tended more towards the crisp modern aesthetic of the Montreal ’76 olympics (leaving behind the ‘jazziness’ of Calgary’s outputs in ’88) it did commit one cardinal sin of design: a prime mark–a glyph used exclusively for denoting the (non-metric) inches and feet units of measurement–instead of a leading apostrophe in the abbreviated 96 of the logo.
Add comment February 28th, 2010
Design: VANOC (Greg Durrell)
Client: VANOC
Date: September 2009
“When we began the Red Mitten project, we envisioned the mittens being the thread which would unite our country together. With $5 of each pair of mittens going to Canadian athletes, it was a no-brainer that the thread from the mittens could build the form of athletes.”
Greg Durrell
Add comment February 27th, 2010
Design: Dogwood Initiative
Client: Self-initiated
Date: 2010
http://savewinter.ca/
The Save Winter campaign was designed to capture some of the Olympic media spotlight. Playing perfectly off of VANOC’s much talked about weather woes, Dogwood created their own team of winter-sport-loving mascots, but instead of gold medals, these mascots are cheering for snow (via political action on climate change). Like Dogwood’s successful Tankers Are Loonie project, the project also includes decals that alter the face of Canada’s two dollar coin, hijacking currency to spread their message.
-Michael Erdmann
1 comment February 27th, 2010
