Design sheet for the iconic 1964 Olympic logo unearthed

We all enjoy nerding out at a design sheet, and who doesn't love a good Olympic logo? This discovery from the Logo Smith combines the two: the design sheet for the Tokyo 1964 Olympic emblem. This logo was voted by design legend Milton Glaser as his favourite Olympic logo ever. 

The Tokyo 1964 Olympic logo was designed by Yusaku Kamekura and features a red sun representing the Japanese flag above the Olympic gold rings, with 'Tokyo 1964' written in Helvetica. Like all the best logos, it's simple, but extremely effective. And of course, drawing the logo required precise measurements in the days before the likes of Illustrator. 

You can see the Tokyo 1964 logo's design sheet below.

The Logo Smith has attempted to painstakingly recreate the design sheet, and it turned out not to be easy (read his blog post about the sheet here).

As we head towards the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics, we can't help but wonder how this year's logo will be remembered. The original first logo design was scrapped due to plagiarism accusations, the official logo was then unveiled to a mixed reaction, and a concept logo received a lot of praise, with many saying it was better than the official one. The official recycled medals went down a treat, though.

It remains to be seen just what the legacy of this particular logo is, but we do like the idea of people trying to painstakingly recreate it in years to come. Let's hope there's already a detailed design sheet in circulation.

Read more: 

• The controversial story behind the Tokyo 2020 logo
• Ridiculous tutorial reveals the 4 steps to logo design
• Paris 2024 Olympic logo is mercilessly mocked