Although the nearest that many designers will ever get to Olympic competition is vigorously debating the merits of the London 2012 logo down the pub, Central Illustration Agency is preparing for a year where both the Olympics and Euro 2012 will be ubiquitous, with a new calendar humorously themed around 'alternative games'. Each week showcases a different illustrator's sporting flights of fancy, including 'Bat Football' by Sir Peter Blake, Jimi Crayon's typically colourful celebration of hotdog eating and the puzzling world of two-dimensional parkour, by Toby & Pete.
Available from the CIA's website, the calendar has a cover comprising a tear-off poster by illustrator and graphic designer Jonas Bergstrand, unfolding to reveal a top-hatted Victorian ringmaster surrounded by circus imagery. "The idea of commenting on a phenomenon by inventing an opposite or twisted version of it is something that British and Swedish humour have in common," Bergstrand notes.
"Finding the right elements is the tricky thing with photo collages," he admits. "The poster is supposed to look old, so poor image quality actually became an asset and that made things much easier."
