We’re next: Vancouver 2010 counts down to 2010 with launch of new graphic identity and re-launch of www.vancouver2010.com

Sep 17, 2008

Vancouver, BC — Just one day after the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and in its first official day as the “next Games,” the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) unveiled its new graphic identity — an identity that will create a unified and inspiring visual experience leading up to and during the 2010 Winter Games. Early tomorrow morning VANOC will also launch a refreshed website designed to offer an enhanced, in-depth and interactive experience for virtual visitors worldwide.

The new graphic identity builds on the original colour palette of predominantly blues and greens found in the host region and is an intricate and colourful layering of many illustrated textures drawn from Canada’s natural and urban environments and rich cultural diversity. It captures, with imagination and creativity, the spirit of Vancouver 2010 in the universal language of design and incorporates elements designed by Xwa lack tun, a Vancouver-based Aboriginal artist. From banners to in-venue signage to postcards to workforce uniforms to building wraps, the Vancouver 2010 graphic identity is expected to become one of the most iconic elements of the Games experience.

Canadian Olympians Amanda Overland (short track speed skating), Chris Wong (freestyle skiing), Anne-Marie Lefrançois (alpine skiing) and Paralympian Tyler Mosher (cross-country skiing) today unveiled 24 pictograms and a series of sport illustrations as part of the new graphic identity. Created in collaboration with illustrator Irene Jacobs of I’m JAC Design, the pictograms represent 19 Olympic and five Paralympic sport disciplines with a simplified silhouette while incorporating the added dynamism of the athlete in motion. The pictograms and sport illustrations were inspired by modern sport photography, pop culture, fashion illustration and manga-style comics (a Japanese genre of comic books) to give athletes an heroic feel and a close-up view of their intensity and athleticism, while also serving as an inspiration to youth.

With the launch of domestic online ticket sales just over two weeks away, www.vancouver2010.com, powered by Bell, has been vastly enhanced and re-designed to ensure visitors, and particularly ticket buyers, truly experience the personality of the 2010 Winter Games. The refreshed vancouver2010.com site features the new graphic identity, sport illustrations and pictograms, as well as additional background on the new fusion look, including a behind-the-scenes video of how it was inspired and then created by VANOC’s in-house design team. The re-launched site now contains even more information about the 2010 Winter Games, including ticket information, legendary athlete bios, additional spectator information, and more in-depth content about Olympic and Paralympic winter sports. New features and functionality will be activated on the website as the Games approach, to engage Canadians and the world in the Vancouver 2010 experience. The site will be live by Thursday morning.

An example of the new features launching tomorrow at vancouver2010.com is the first in a series of monthly video podcasts (vodcasts). This month’s vodcast features an informal interview with Canadian short track speed skating athletes during a recent training session at the Pacific Coliseum (competition venue for short track speed skating and figure skating during the Games). In the vodcast, the athletes describe their sport and share personal and often light-hearted insights about themselves and the Games.

In the last year, vancouver2010.com received over three million unique visitors from around the world. This includes over two million Canadians from all regions of the country — or approximately one out of 17 citizens. Original website feature stories about athletes, sport, culture, sustainability and preparations for Canada’s Games are read by 30,000 people each month; videos on the website have been viewed some 435,000 times in the past year; and over 120,000 people have subscribed to receive the Vancouver 2010 General Update e-newsletter. The new website contains approximately 1,500 pages of content and is the number one source for information about the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com for more information.

Additional Background information:

Xwa lack tun
Internationally renowned artist Xwa lack tun was born and raised in Squamish and studied art at Capilano College and Emily Carr. Xwa lack tun's work can be seen throughout Vancouver and the surrounding areas. Some of his most notable works is the council table for the sixteen chiefs in council at the Squamish Nation Band Office and the Cedar doors that adorn the Recreation Centre on the Capilano Reserve, a major public art piece at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, a commission for double doors for the University of Victoria, and ceremony maces for Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Irene Jacobs — I’m Jac Design
Irene Jacobs is the Dutch illustrator and designer and the creative director of I'm JAC design, founded in 1993. Located in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, Irene’s work is inspired by nature, music, people, graphic design, movies, architecture and fashion. Operating as a global network of illustrators and designers, I’m Jac design works with a variety of media such as interactive design, moving image, websites, package design and advertising,

Graphic identity
The graphic identity, often called the “Look of the Games,” is introduced gradually leading up to the Games. It typically includes elements such as banners, flags, wraps, netting, ticket design, wayfinding and signage. It is usually seen throughout the host region often including airports, roadways, venues, celebration sites and uniforms to name a few.

Games Pictograms
Olympic pictograms first appeared at the London 1948 Olympic Games in London when organizers created 20 pictograms for 18 Olympic sports and one each for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. However, pictograms did not officially debut until the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.

Contact
VANOC Communications
mediarelations@vancouver2010.com