Melbourne Sports Museum Critiques

Design Critique 1
Berlin 1936 Olympics, Franz Würbel

This poster was the first important task in the preparation of the Berlin Olympics 1936. The aim of this poster was to advertise the Berlin Olympics that would be held in Berlin, Germany. Obviously, Franz Würbel designed this poster while taking consideration of three factors that would make the poster effective on the international scale as well as for hitler's own requests. Personally, I think that the shadowy figure of a wreathed victor with his arm raised up in the air works really well with the design as it represents the Olympic sport and likewise, victory. The quadriga of the Brandenburg gate was included in the foreground as the landmark of the host city which is Berlin. The five Olympic Rings were included behind the head of the shadow figure in order to make the poster be appealing on the international market, as they represent the five continents.


From my point of view, the increasing international rivalry that developed in the Olympics after their re-establishment in 1894 was reflected in their posters. The German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, saw the Berlin Olympic Games as a major opportunity for publicity for his Nazi regime and its racist ideology, and high-profile posters were commissioned from Franz Würbel and Ludwig Hohlwein. The art movement/style used in this poster is classical realism and it was in fact Hitler's chosen stylethis design incorporates sculpture from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate which somehow show the German supremacy.

From observation, the design looks stable. The Olympic rings in the background are placed right in the top middle of the page. The shadowy figure, being on the left hand side of the artwork and the quadriga placed on the other side kind of balance the overall design. Likewise, the typefaces participate in making the design stable as they are all capitals and quite bold.

The concept of this poster sure is to represent all the good aspects of the Olympics. But strictly from my own opinion, I would say that the concept behind the Germans, especially behind Hitler's Nazi dictatorship on promoting his racial supremacy. At the same time, the German launched their propaganda as the Games were a brief, two-week interlude in Germany’s escalating campaign against its Jewish population and the country’s march toward war.

http://olympic-museum.de/poster/poster1936.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics
http://desaingrafisindonesia.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/berlin1936.gif


Design critique 2
Athens 2004, Olympic torch


The Athens 2004 Olympic torch was designed to resemble an olive leaf. Note that the Olive tree is one of the most powerful symbols in Greece. it has left an inedible mark the Greek's mythology and art.

Weighing 700 gr. and standing at 68 cm. The torch has a really upward dynamic shape which enables it to enhance the flame. Its ergonomic design is dominated by curves and it was particularly designed for the purpose of establishing the torch as the continuation of the flame in its free movement. The flame rises as the extension of the torchbearer's hand. Personally, the design is quite simple but it has a lot of thoughts behind it.

The main concept behind the simple design of the Athens 2004 Olympic torch was to carry peace and freedom around the world as it was the first Olympic torch that travelled to all five continents. The Olive branch being the inspiration of the torch is actually the global symbol for peace and symbol. The concept is strongly based on the Olive tree concept as the wood of which it is made is from Olive tree. I believe that this concept shows Greece's pride as it the the source of the Olympic Games and this makes Greece stand out from all the other previous host countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Summer_Olympics
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/2008shzf/ljsh/200803/W020080312328784940782.jpg