Since its debut in 2019, the logo for the Paris Olympics has taken a lot of heat from critics online, especially within the design community. 

The emblem, which incorporates several symbols—a female face symbolizing liberty, the Olympic flame signifying universal progress and gold representing human excellence—was mocked for its visual similarity to beauty brands, salon logos and the Tinder app icon.

It’s not the first divisive Olympic logo (we’re still looking at you, London 2012). But it’s the first to tap into a methodology called Ecobranding,™ pioneered by Paris-based independent agency Royalties, which designed the logo and custom typeface for this year’s Summer Games.

Ecobranding™ is about “radically rethinking the responsibility of corporate design, both as a source of CO2 emissions and waste, and as a tool to encourage sustainable behaviors inside and outside of businesses,” says Sylvain Boyer, Head of Creative Strategy at Royalties. This means there’s a greener way to approach every touchpoint of a design project.

Boyer says Royalties breaks down the methodology into four distinct categories.

• Meaning: Identify the essence of a brand and its vision for the future.
  

• Appearance: Reduce resources and increase the impact of the visual identity.
  

• Activation: Assess how the brand can make each touchpoint more sustainable.
  

• Innovation: Utilize sustainability guidelines to establish new pathways for creative expression. 
  

They followed this design process when developing key elements for the Olympics, like the logo and the typeface. This also aligns with Paris 2024’s broader commitment to sustainability for the Summer Games, making it a lot more than a web design trend.

How Paris 2024 is going green

Ninety-five percent of the venues will be pre-existing or temporary, with new constructions built using low-carbon methods. The Games will use the city’s extensive public transport network and add new bike lanes to reduce traffic, while also using 100% renewable energy with biofuel, hydrogen or battery-powered alternatives for the few required generators.

After the Games, the Olympic Village will be converted into a residential and business district for 12,000 people, with significant portions reserved for public and affordable housing, aimed at rejuvenating the Saint-Denis neighborhood. 

The Games are also a catalyst for cleaning the River Seine, with substantial investments in pollution remediation as part of Paris’s climate resilience plans, aiming to make the river accessible for all Parisians by 2025.

"We wanted to underscore the Olympic Games’ enduring value as a symbol of unity and hope beyond sport."

Designing for the future

The world has changed dramatically since the team at Royalties began the design process for the Olympic emblem.

“We always knew we would be designing a logo for the future, but we could have never predicted what that future would hold: COVID, war, humanitarian crises, environmental destruction,” Boyers says. “So, we wanted to underscore the Olympic Games’ enduring value as a symbol of unity and hope beyond sport in the design that we created.” 

Part of that was envisioning a future that prioritizes inclusivity and environmental stewardship. This is not only the first time in history that the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games share the same emblem, this is also the first time that the visual identity will include eco-branding in its guidelines, a decision that will hopefully set a new standard for the design of future Olympics.

The team accomplished this by first designing the emblem in a minimalist style with a subdued color palette that would reduce ink consumption across print media. They implemented a dark mode option for mobile users that consumes less energy than a white background and enhances the logo's golden hues. 

The custom typeface Royalties created for the Games is a perfect example of blending eco-design principles with a city's artistic heritage. By designing a variable typeface, the team managed to achieve visual adaptability while saving ink and paper, thanks to its compact characters and minimalist Art Deco aesthetic.

Variable typefaces combine multiple font styles into a single file, resulting in smaller file sizes, better web performance and efficient design with fewer resources. This adaptability allows for a better user experience across different platforms and extends the lifespan of a font family, reducing the need for new fonts. Overall, this efficiency aligns with efforts to cut down digital resource consumption and promote sustainability in design. 

But it’s not all about function. The rich artistic traditions of France, especially the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, are woven into the fabric of Paris and visible in everything from shop storefronts to Metro signs, and the team wanted to honor that legacy through the bespoke typeface, which will appear across all design materials for the Games.

The Royalties philosophy: “while eco-branding guidelines might place design constraints on a project, they also encourage designers to problem-solve more creatively.” 

How to design more sustainably

Keep it simple

Opt for minimalist designs that require less ink to print. This can involve using simpler graphics, fewer colors and reducing the amount of solid areas, which minimizes ink consumption.

Use sustainable materials

Choose eco-friendly materials for all printed and physical products. This includes using recycled paper, biodegradable packaging and eco-friendly printing techniques like using soy-based or water-based inks and FSC Certified Paper that reduce environmental impact.

Opt for energy-efficient typography

Use custom typefaces designed to consume less ink and energy. Variable fonts can adjust weight and spacing to minimize printing costs and digital load, conserving resources both in print and digital formats.

Adopt eco-friendly digital practices

Implement design practices that reduce energy consumption in digital media. This includes using dark mode options, optimizing images and graphics for faster loading times and creating websites and apps that require less data transfer and processing power. 

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