Iconologic

Iconologic, the design firm that created Portfolio Center’s own revolutionary, dynamic website, also developed the Look of the Games for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Working with the TOROC Image and Identity team, Iconologic designed the visual language to communicate the “Piazza” theme. While the firm has played a role in branding every Olympics since Atlanta’s 1996 Summer Games, this is the first time a company outside of the host country has ever actually led the design development.

Interestingly enough, the eighteen-person studio is home professionally to several Portfolio Center alumni and instructors, including the Creative Director for the project, Matt Rollins. Matt arrived at Iconologic just in time for the project, after having run his own company—Basis-- with fellow Portfolio Center alum Todd Simmons. His experience also includes eight years as Creative Director at EAI (now Unboundary) and a stint at Frankfurt Balkind in New York City.

Matt admits he lost a lot of sleep during this particular project, so strong was his commitment to authenticity. During a two-day workshop in Torino, his team brainstormed with select locals on what it meant to be Italian and Turinese. He was moved by the passion these people showed, how articulate and opinionated they were about their home. He didn’t want to disappoint them with anything trite or cliché.

It was also important to create a brand that worked on every level—local, national, and global—and felt good to every possible audience—television viewers, spectators, and athletes. It had to succeed across every application, including medals, banners, vehicles, uniforms, stadiums, fencing, signage, TV, print, and Internet, and it had to be original and adventurous. Whew! And Matt was relieved when his team brought their ideas back to those folks and they were pleased.

Although he’s quick to point out that the Olympics work comprises only about ten percent of Iconologic’s portfolio, and that their clients also include the likes of Milliken Carpet, Cooper Carrie Architects, and Moxie Productions (Andre Benjamin of Outkast’s new venture), he certainly is proud of how it all turned out and the feedback he’s gotten. He says, “The Look of the Games brings things together visually, thematically and, most importantly, emotionally. I hear from athletes that when they step into an Olympic stadium and see all the colors flying, they really step up their game.”

And when asked about the role Portfolio Center has played in his professional success, Matt replies, “PC lit a fire in my belly that still burns—no matter how much antacid I take.”