Remember a while back when, with the full support of the GDC, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Committee (VANOC) put out an Request For Proposal (RFP) for Mascot Designs? Well the results are in. VANOC had a press conference to announce their 3 Mascots. First and foremost, congratulations go out to Vicki Wong and Michael Murphy, of Meomi Design for their design! Also, for those of you have been following the relationship between the BC/GDC and VANOC with regards to Spec Work, I have to give a lot of credit to the both parties who worked together to ensure that the RFP was done in accordance with GDC guidelines and had the full support and approval of the GDC.

As is the case with ALL public design (be it Communication Industrial or Architectural Design) reception to the results are mixed and blogs, list-serves and even TSN are starting to weigh in with opinions. The result may not be what YOU would have done, but they are an an expression of Canadian diversity with multiple stories and symbolism. They are simple, friendly and attempt to capture aspects of the Canadian spirit, culture, attitude, geography, athleticism, sports—even mythology—in a friendly way.

A hybrid of a bear and a whale? Why not. At least they tried to be clever. More aboriginal iconography? Certainly. It’s an attempt at being first-nations friendly without alienating other British Columbians. The best possible solution? Of course not. Is there ever one perfect solution with so many stakeholders?

Is it good design? Consider the audience and demographic before engaging in another bashing. Time will tell if it engages and communicates the message to a broad international audience—a predominantly younger audience—and brings the crowds to Vancouver.

Congrats to all involved!

Today marked the launch of the new London 2012 Olympic logo and it didn’t take long for the controversy to begin. I’d already fielded a number calls and emails before lunch from friends, designers and even the media.

My inbox is filled with emails about the subject from various GDC designers across the country—some even wondering if the whole thing isn’t a hoax. Most hate the logo, claiming it’s too silly, trendy and irrelevant. Others argue that it’s edgy and fresh - sort of a new friendly punk-graffiti take on London’s identity—and will appeal to a more youthful audience.

I say we’ll need some time to see how this unusual logo is actually used before history judges it fairly. I’ll certainly be watching with a keen designer’s eye.

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Professional membership with MGDC designation is not only a badge of honour, but a powerful identifier that differentiates you as a trained, experienced, professional. Still, many designers choose not to join. Why is this?

Perhaps the role or value of the GDC is not clearly understood within the design community and efforts should be made to improve our image? If you have not joined or renewed your membership, tell us why. If there are specific concerns you have with the organization or have suggestions for improvements, please share your thoughts with us so that we may learn how to better serve the needs of our community? Help us help you.

Do you still call yourself a Graphic Designer? Or, like the authors of www.BeyondGraphic.org, do you agree we should replace the term entirely with the more relevant and accurate title Communication Designer, reflecting the modern reality that, as professionals, we make contributions that go far beyond “graphics” and delve deeply into the worlds of communication, psychology and often multi-media to help communicate our clients messages? As the Society of Graphic Designers, we’d obviously like to know what our members feel about this contentious issue.