Meet Trojan Man, the highly energetic and cute mascot of Parkland High School (PA). Fans love him because of signature moves like doing backflips for every point scored, engaging children watching in fake sword fights, posing the Trojan akimbo stance, flinging t-shirts to the fans using a slingshot, and being hoisted into the air by the cheerleaders during the football games.

For about 2 years no one dared to do the part of this unique Trojan mascot until Clint Gyory. Reluctant at first, he quickly enjoyed being the Trojan Man who is dressed with a very large head, a read skirt, gray cape, and white fit spandex upper garment.

The Trojan Man is seen during the most football games in the home court. Clint’s strong physique complements the strong image of the Trojan Man. His experience in gymnastics is a really big factor in doing his stunts or tumbling, wowing the audience, and making the crowd go wild.

The last person powering the Trojan Man mascot two years ago did not last long. He only stayed for a couple games and quit after many people made fun of him.

Via The Morning Call

As part of its bid to be the host country of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Brazilian Olympic Committee has unveiled the official Olympic logo of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil dubbed as Rio2016.

According to the winning designer, Ana Soter, this logo was inspired by Brazil’s passion for sports. Soter used the heart-shaped Sugar Loaf to represent thrill and passion of Brazilians for sports. The exclamation point in the number 1 of the year 2016 represents the excitement of the people to be the host country.

Thanks to the use of vibrant colors, the president of the Committee believes this design “conveys energy, happiness and also the city’s characteristic of warmly welcoming all different races and cultures, just like Brazilians do.”

The logo was declared winner by the jury in a contest held by the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Unlike other Olympic logos, it did not solicit any feedback from the community.

Rio de Janeiro will be competing against other cities such as Doha (Qatar), Chicago (U.S.), Tokyo (Japan), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic) and Baku (Azerbaijan).

via Sports Features Communications

Even religious personalities, places of worship and events are now embracing the power of logo design. One new example is the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Archdioceses of New York and Washington, D.C. on April 15-20, 2008.

The logo shows a photo of the beloved Pope waving both hands in front of the yellow-screened photo of St. Peter’s Basilica. There is also a tagline “Christ Our Hope” to reflect the Pope’s encyclical, “Spe Salvi” or saved by hope. This is the Pope’s invitation to the people to encounter Jesus Christ in a more intimate and personal manner. There is also a text below the big tagline or overall theme saying “Apostolic Journey to the United States 2008.”

The aim of the logo designer Donna Hobson is to project the Pope with a welcoming charisma so she selected the photo of him smiling to the crowd. Hobson also used yellow and white to incorporate the papal colors in the design.

Although some people question the need for a new logo just for this occasion, I do hope you focus on the merits of the design. Similar to the concept of designing a logo for your church, it should encompass both your beliefs and professionalism. Symbolisms are very important in some religions such as crosses or other angelic symbols. The important thing is to stick with conservative and simple designs to avoid offending members of that religion.

Via ZENIT

In preparation for the upcoming 2010 World Expo in Shangai, China, event organizers have unveiled the official mascot named Haibao or “treasure of the world” when translated to the English word.

Integrating tradition and modern concepts, Haibao takes the form of the Chinese character REN ? to resemble a human being. As the official mascot, Haibao will represent the Expo as a prestigious platform for cultural exchange.

This cute and curly-haired mascot is colored blue to symbolize water, sea, earth, life, dreams, the future and technology. Organizers hope this will further support the event’s theme and tagline “Better city, better life”.

The design team leader characterizes Haibao as a happy, naive, confident and lovely child. It was selected from about 27,000 entries submitted from 21 countries around the globe.

There are several factors considered for choosing the appropriate mascot design. One, it should reflect the culture of the host country, China, and must adhere to Chinese laws and social norms. Additionally, it should be easy to understand, remember, and use in different licensed products including stationeries and souvenirs.

via Beijing 2008

Even age-old logos will have a hard time escaping critics clamoring for discrimination. Such is the case of Nordic Battlegroup’s male lion logo when it was “digitally emasculated” or castrated.

According to the Times, a group of female Swedish soldiers filed a sex discrimination complaint to the European Court of Justice simply because they could not identify with the male lion’s willy on their army crest. However, the lion is supposed to represent courage and nothing else.

Understandably, the logo designer Vladimir Sagerlund was very upset about this digital alteration for it has a historical value. In an interview with a Swedish newspaper he said, “The Army lacks knowledge about heraldry. Coats of arms containing lions without genitalia were given to those who betrayed the Crown.”

Adland commented this snip is really trivial since the lion is still clearly a male with that mane. Then again, this is an important reminder for many small business owners to think on a long-term basis when designing a logo and anticipate any form discrimination no matter how absurd. Indeed, this may be the saddest logo change of 2007.