The unveiling of the garish 2012 Olympic logo and its supporting site has caused quite a brouhaha in its host country of England. The vast majority of objections are to the logo’s appearance, which is more a matter of taste. But one objection — which is a first in my experience — came from those evaluating the online animation that was created to announce the logo’s unveiling. A portion of this animation was quickly pulled because of its ability to trigger seizures in people with epilepsy. As humorist Dave Barry likes to say, I’m not making this up.
I have to say this adds another level of complexity to the design of online media. They should now, wherever possible, comply with ADA standards, but also not trigger seizures.
By pulling the animation immediately the 2012 Olympic committee has done the right thing for epileptics. On the other hand, for purely aesthetic reasons, I see much more public foaming at the mouth in this logo’s future.
It is indeed ghastly to behold.