A Logo for all seasons

The Olympic logo rumpus prompts many questions, not least over the competence of those who created as well as those who approved it.

But the issue that intrigues me (and several who have e-mailed me) is whether this would have been an appropriate matter over which to consult the public. Those who have experience in this business confide that public competitions for logos or mascots produce a hatful of the whacky, unusable and incomprehensible, usually followed by as virulent a row as we have seen last week.

But I don't understand why a technical team can't narrow the field to a shortlist, say of three acceptable designs and then ask the public? Apparently, focus groups were extensively used in the process, but we have no information as to whether or not they were shown alternatives to the eventually selected design.
The essence of consultation is to offer people a meaningful choice.

It's the misfortune of Lord Coe and his colleagues that the first the general public (and our vociferous media) heard of this logo was a fait accompli. As such it is a missed opportunity for some genuine public engagement.