Had Hamburg’s 2024 Olympic bid managed to win its November referendum and instead clung on to its application in the race, local holistic design firm Mutabor was ready with a logo that it had developed pro bono for the bid committee over the previous three months. Mutabor, known for work on major brands such as BMW, Audi and Bosch, decided to reveal the logo even in the absence of the bid, as a valuable case study.
The logo represents the Olympic rings reflected in water.
The logo was already approved by the German Sport Authority (DOSB) and a corresponding launch video and marketing campaign was prepared and set to move forward had the referendum been successful.
“Our goal was to reflect the uniqueness of the Hamburg application and the issues to be considered ‘sustainable urban development’, ‘integration’ and ‘Games on the water,'” Mutabor said on its Website regarding the logo design.
“The compact compression of the issue of water into a round shape in which the water seems to flow dynamically, and a mirror in which the world and the sporting community reflects; symbolized by the reflection of the Olympic colors on the water surface.”
The logo represents what seems to be the suggested slogan, “Reflecting the spirit of the Games.”
The typeface, inspired by local architecture, was created by a Mutabor designer exclusively for the Hamburg 2024 bid. An entire marketing look had also been proposed.
Now the logo will be part of the bid legacy that represents an unfulfilled dream of those in Germany who had hoped to welcome the Olympic Games the their home.
Rome used a similar legacy to help propel its current bid for the 2024 Games. After backing out of the 2020 bid campaign when it failed to receive required government guarantees a committee representative released its already completed initial bid book complete with detailed plans.
Similarly to the already released Rome 2024 logo, the city and year for Hamburg are not coupled in the presentation as has been traditional in previous campaigns. Since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provides guidance in the logo creation its possible that this is a new general branding practice as part of recent Olympic bid reforms.
You can visit the Mutabor Hamburg 2024 case study by clicking this link.
