Have you seen the logo for the 2012 Olympics to be held in London?

If you have, you probably wish you hadn’t.

The Olympic committee in London states the logo is "… dynamic, modern and flexible. It will work with new technology and across traditional and new media networks." and that "…It will become London 2012’s visual icon, instantly recognizable amongst all age groups, all around the world. It will establish the character and identity of the London 2012 Games and what the Games will symbolize nationally and internationally".

The British public is calling the logo an embarrassment.

The design looks like nothing but a group of blocky, jagged objects haphazardly arranged on a page. Only after you know the design is supposed to be for the 2012 Olympics do you see the "20" on the top and the "12" on the bottom.  The logo also comes in four different neon colors, each one representative of the colors in the Olympic logo. Seriously, this logo isn’t fit to grace a refrigerator door.

The spokesman for the conservative wing of the London Olympic committee, Bob Neil, wants to know where the money for the creation of the design went, according to the reports on Yahoo News.

More recent reports claim the logo's animation had to be removed from the official site because the constant flashing and frantic rush of neon colors were causing epileptic fits in some viewers.

During the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid., one of the biggest pastimes on the main street was trading souvenir pins with athletes and people from other countries. It’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to have a souvenir pin of the 2012 logo for any other reason than a good laugh years from now.

The 2012 Olympic logo is a disaster, lacking the dignity and pride these games have come to stand for through time. The artists behind the design may use lots of fine arts babble to cover up the mishmash of lines and color that have no meaning, but they’re not fooling anyone.

A good logo needs no explanation. If there was a Golden Shovel Award to be handed out for fast talking and trying to pull the wool over the public’s eye, these designers would surely be in the running.

Posted by Deb.

Deb is the graphic artist who created these very nice free printable gift tags.