About
Getting my five a day…
“The day it was announced that the Olympics were exactly a year away, I noticed that some things on my desk looked like an Olympic rings logo and so I photographed them. The next day I did the same with some doilies, and then the glasses I was washing up. Soon enough an obsession was born.”
For a year Sarah Hyndman has been remaking the Olympic rings logo out of everyday objects to celebrate the countdown to the start of the Olympics in London. It was a small, lighthearted idea that paid quiet homage to the power of a well designed logo. The resulting blog has been blogged and tweeted around the world, and has been viewed in 120 countries in the last 30 days.
After a year of daily remakes, 366 logos (it’s a leap year), the culmination is a movie which shows all the images as they progress through the 12 months, the seasons, holidays and the events that have marked out the year.
Sarah explains that her highlight was when Barnes Primary School created the images that hosted the blog for a month, tying in with the announcement that the 2012 game’s motto is ‘inspire a generation’. “The children asked me questions which I responded to by filming my answers for them. They put a lot of thought and enthusiasm into the project and their logos came complete with clever captions which really made me up my game. I love the photo where’ they’re lying on the ground smiling and waving in the formation of the five rings (day 233).”
Having plundered the every day objects around her extensively, Sarah turned to taking inspiration from events such as Wimbledon, key dates such as Valentines (the day after features broken Loveheart sweets with the caption “it’s complicated”), and taking on tweeted challenges such as Mandy’s request for a logo relating to National Transplant Week (the result is on day 350). The blog has received contributions from people who have, like Sarah, started to see Olympic rings in their everyday lives demonstrating the pervasiveness of the 100 year old icon.
“…a quirky and amusing collection of alternatives to the Olympic Rings in the now-cult blog” Blueprint Magazine “She sees logos” The New York Times “simple but striking idea” The Londonist “…the Olympics combined with that great sense of British irony” Treehugger “What a silly site!!!” comment on blog
The Olympic Logo a Day blog has been written about in the New York Times, Blueprint magazine, Design Week, The Drum, Follow the Colours Brazil, Logo Design Love, Londonist, Creative Boom, Eye magazine, Dezeen, Handpicked London, Everything London, GQ, Jessica Ennis’ official website, Treehugger and the ‘alternative Olympic posters’ became the ‘top news story’ on Twitter in the week they were released…
Click on each image above to see explanatory notes on a selection of images.
Please note this is a personal, not-for-profit art project. The images cannot be sold, used to promote anything or for commercial gain.
Life after Olympic Logo a Day
Sarah Hyndman has set up a venture called Type Tasting. She runs creative typography workshops and type safaris in which participants get away from their computers and explore the expressive qualities of type.
Find out more…
