The Rio Olympics Logo: Spec Work?
By Rodrigo Teixeira on January 12, 2011
The folks of Tátil Design, located in Rio de Janeiro, won a competition among 139 other agencies to design the Rio Olympics Logo.
The result is a logo with a very vibrant and happy tone, emphasizing the mood and the spirit of the cariocas.
Tátil created the typography for the logo in house. The characteristics of the mark resulted in a three-dimensional piece, and a sculpture, that one can actually walk into.
With the upcoming World Cup (2014) and the Olympics (2016), Brazil is living a boom of products and services related to these two mega-events. Both Fifa and the Olympic Comitée optioned for competitions for choosing their logos. While the logotype for the Olympics was very well received by the general public, the World Cup Logo was target of harsh critics from the design community.
More important than that is the discussion over this approach to choosing an agencie. According to AIGA, there’s no doubt, it is a kind of spec-work, since the agencie must submit their work in hopes of getting paid for it.
What do you think? Is this an acceptable way of choosing a business partner? Would you, or your agencie participate in a competition like that?
Eddie Kennington
awesum logo
Eddie Kennington
awesum logo
Theo Rosendorf
Looks like spec work to me. We’re too busy working with paying clients to take such a project.
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Howard Stein
Of course one does this kind of project as spec work. To participate is a privilege.
And for the winner? What paying job will get you this kind of acclaim and exposure? In architecture, it is routine to respond to competitions and entries can cost a firm hundreds of thousands of dollars. It keeps the professions vibrant and alive. Spec work in the course of daily business is another matter entirely. Congratulations to Tátil Design! I want to see the logo huge! In mirror-polished steel!
Lexy
I agree. To participate in the competition is a treat all on its own. Designers doing on spec work is similar to how olympic athletes devote so much of their time and life into preparing for the olympics without the guarantee of winning. It is not about the money/medal it is about the experience and money/medal is just something that comes with a great experience.
http://www.hiretheworld.com/blog/designers/design-resources/olympics-2012-working-on-spec