Not all rectangles are squares.
There is a saying in math (specifically, geometry) - all square are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. I suppose it's not a math saying, as I've seen it applied to many, many things.
It's applicable to the 2012 London Olympics logo too. Coudal Partners swears it's a good logo. Most of the rest of the design community's reaction can by summed up by John Gruber @ Daring Fireball: 'It's fucking ugly. Not just kind of ugly, but hideously ugly.'
Coudal actually goes into detail as to why they like it.
It's not boring No, no it's not. Point 1.
It's different Well, it's not boring, at least. Actually, I am glad they avoided the stereotypical images. But it's not actually different. But, if Coudal pulled their head out of their Web 2.0-community world, they'd see the other massive trend in design is this wierd, harsh, brightly colored, lo-fi punk-wannabe rip-offs... which this is.
It's reproducible Except, as you point out, the word 'London' sucks for web output. And it'll suck when printed on your McDonalds cups in more than one color, which is one of Coudal's complaints about many other logos.
It's flexible Yes, yes it is. Point 2 for London.
It's the basis for a graphic system So? That has nothing to do with whether or not the logo is good. It simply is.
It's timeless. No, it looks like something from the 1980s. By the way, when you're saying how different something is, you should probably refrain from pointing out all of the things that are similar to it.
It's English. So are bad teeth, steak & kidney pie, and a few other things the world could do without. Oh yeah - if you want to say how different something is, don't point out how it looks exactly like something else.
It's Simple. When someone says 'Their kid could've done that,' it's not a compliment. It means either: *It's meaningless gibberish that my 3 year old could've scribbled *It's so patently obvious, you clearly didn't spend time thinking beyond your first concept
It cost £400,000 I'll consider that a point for the designers. 3 points for London so far.
It's unexpected So is getting kicked in the nuts by a donkey. That doesn't mean it's pleasant. That Chicago Olympic logo That's "attractive, memorable and generally liked. It even generated a fair amount of internet buzz" - all good things. So what if there will be taller buildings than the Sears Tower - will they be landmarks? Will anyone recognize them? No, they'll be just another behemoth tower. The sears tower will still be the symbol of the skyline.
3 out of 10 Coudal? You can do better. So can London.
