Ashridge creates winning brand

There are few things that divide opinion more than sporting events, public finances and design. No surprise, then, that London’s logo for the 2012 Olympics has caused such controversy. Perhaps, then, the organisers should have consulted a bunch of business school students………

Earlier this year, Richard Bamsey, head of graphics on the Brand Management Programme at Ashridge, worked with students on the course to develop a logo for the 2012 Olympics. Following the controversy about the official logo, designed by Wolff Olins at the cost of £400,000, Mr Bamsey decided to submit the Ashridge design to the BBC for a competition it was running on its website. The viewers to the website voted it into fourth position - not quite a place on the winner’s podium, but respectable none the less.

Unlike the luridly-coloured angular official logo, the Ashridge design is much more traditional and - some would say - very much more sophisticated.

www.ashridge.org.uk