Chicago 2016 Logo and CNA Plaza

[Tannerman]

The International Olympic Committee is in town for a week evaluating Chicago as one of 4 candidate cities for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. We're in the running against Madrid (Spain), Rio de Janerio (Brazil), and Tokyo (Japan).

Chicago 2016 Logo and CNA Plaza
(Source: CNA - Used by Permission)

Because of this, the city is all spruced up to wine-and-dine the IOC dignitaries, including a ton of signage featuring the Chicago 2016 logo (the "Star" logo, not the disqualified -- and superior -- "Torch" logo).

Chicago 2016 Logo and Slogan

The official slogan of Chicago's bid was also recently changed from "Stir the Soul" to "Let Friendship Shine" when it was discovered that the original slogan didn't translate well into other languages. (Is it just me, or is someone on the design/branding side of this bid not doing their homework?)

Original Logo for Chicago's 2016 Olympic Bid

Just like the IOC's visit in March 2007, Chicago's skyline is also getting into action supporting the bid. Back then, buildings were pretty much limited to displaying "2016" given the tight restrictions in logos and Olympic-related symbols. CNA Plaza displayed "2016", as did many other structures.

As many of you know, my father is a building carpenter at CNA Plaza and has been involved for years with the lighted window messages that are made by illuminating the windows in the building. We've documented quite a few of those displays here on SteveandAmySly.com.

Well, for the IOC's most recent visit, CNA got a little more leeway in its messaging, getting approval from the Chicago bid organization to display a version of the official "Star" logo on the side of the building. Now, looking at how complex that "Star" logo is, one wondered just how you'd pull that off on small grid of windows.

I must say, I was impressed when I saw the plans.

Note the foam board cutouts in the windows

Because of all the angles needed to accurately recreate the star effect, foam board cutouts were created to sit in the windows. This same technique has been used in the past, most recently to created the "angled eyes" effect on the Chicago Bears logo during their Super Bowl run in 2007. Foam board was also used in 1998 for the Chicago Bulls logo when they won their 6th championship. Dad basically told me, "we cut a LOT of foam for this display!"

The angled star windows are what makes this lighted window message really work well. The use of the boxes outside the star also used brevity to accurately recreate the colored gradient backgrounds found in the official "Star" bid logo. It just works and looks pretty solid overall. This logo shows on both the east and west sides of the building. On the narrower north and south ends, the numbers "2016" are spelled vertically.

This lighting display is one of the longest that CNA has run, scheduled to be visible for 7 straight days. This creates somewhat of a challenge when the building resumes back to 'work mode' during the day, as tearing all those elements down and putting them back up would require a lot of extra time. I'm told that during this special display period, the blinds on the windows are simply opened, but not moved, nor are the cardboard cutouts actually taken out. This photo from the ArchitectureChicago PLUS blog showcases how that looks in the daytime:

(Source: arcchicago.blogspot.com)

The other big difference in this Olympics display vs. the one CNA produced back in March 2007 is that the CNA logo is actually on the building, via permanent signs on the north and south sides of the building, added in December 2007. So at least this time around, CNA as a company gets more exposure and branding for their window display efforts. This was made obvious when the lighting scheme was first introduced last week, as both our local CBS and ABC stations gave it a lot of airtime:

Video: CBS2 Coverage

Video: ABC7 Coverage

I've been watching CNA do these messages for a long time, but I must say this is one of their better executions. It takes a lot of work (and hours) to make it happen, but the results have been pretty awesome to see over the past week.

As for the Olympics bid itself... well, I personally love the Olympics, but as a Chicago resident, I'm not in favor of getting the Games. C'mon, you can't honestly think we'd be able to pull them off without major cost overruns, corruption, or controversial development? This is Chicago. Our city-based governor just got indicted and impeached. Our mayor sold off the parking meters and an airport in an attempt to balance the budget. Heck, we can't even make an Olympic big logo without violating the rules!

No thanks. Unlike the local Chicago media who seems to just roll over on this stuff and reconstitute the press releases sent out by the official Chicago 2016 committee, any sports economist or Olympics expert will confirm that the Games in their current form end up costing the hosts a LOT in the long run... not only in money, but in resources, time, and energy. Just ask Vancouver, London, Athens, Turin, and Sydney. Unless your are a Communist dictatorship like Beijing with the ability to spend heavily to prove to the world that you aren't evil, it just doesn't work.

We don't need the Games.... but nice job on the building, CNA!

For more building images, visit our...
CNA Plaza Lighted Window Message Archive

[Wally]

The window display is amazing! It looks great!

[FernLaplante]

Per usual, the window design on CNA looks fantastic. They always do a great job.

As for the games in Chicago, I am 100% for it. Not only would it bring in thousands of jobs to the city almost right from the get-go but it would also be really cool. I hope Chicago wins the bid.

[Egg]

The window display is really cool!!!!

[Tannerman]

Respected website GamesBids.com -- which I've read for years and currently has Chicago at #4 in their estimates on getting the 2016 games -- did a follow up story on the recent IOC visit to Chicago. It's worth a read: What Really Happened In Chicago: Gleanings From An Olympic Bid Evaluation

Of note is the following paragraph:

The visuals with the greatest impact were clearly on the buildings across Millennium Park from the Art Institute where IOC members were dining. Windows were lit up to display variations of “Chicago 2016” – even the iconic Smurfit-Stone building (a.k.a. Diamond Building) displayed multiple 2016’s across the angled diamond roof – I can’t figure out how they pulled that off. Separately, another building displayed the Chicago Star logo – a stunning display.

Sure, the lame Smurfit-Stone building gets a mention by name, but "another building" doesn't get a detailed shoutout by brand. Maybe that's why CNA stuck their name on the building finally. In any case, at least they got props for the Chicago Star logo.