london olympic torch by barber osgerby wins design of the year 2012 london olympic torch by barber osgerby wins design of the year 2012
apr 26, 2012

london olympic torch by barber osgerby wins design of the year 2012

edward barber and jay osgerby of barber osgerby portrait © designboom

edward barber and jay osgerby of UK-based studio barber osgerby have won the london design museum‘s design of the year award 2012 for their realization of the london olympic torch. commissioned by the london organizing committee of the olympic and paralympic games (LOCOG), its triangular form signifies the third time that the UK’s capital will host the games. the 8,000 perforations seen on the exterior of the piece represent each bearer who will run with the aluminium torch in the london 2012 olympic torch relay that will take place in july of this year. see designboom’s coverage of the 2012 design of the year shortlist.

as part of milan design week 2012, barber osgerby’s torch was on display at the triennale di milano. designboom interviewed the designers about their process and material selection, the final torch and what it represents:


edward barber and jay osgerby speak with designboom about their design of the london 2012 olympic torch
video © designboom

london 2012 olympic torch by barber osgerby image © designboom

early foam and paper design models of the torch image © designboom

metal prototypes for heat and drop testing image © designboom

up close view of the prototypes image © designboom

image © designboom

pattern and perforation solutions for the torch image © designboom

installation view of the london 2012 olympic torch on show at the triennale di milano during milan design week 2012 image © designboom

andrea chin I designboom
apr 26, 2012

  • Listen BarberOsgerby, I love you man, but come on, the triangular?? 8000 perforations? golden calf?

    i am dissapoint by this illuminati stuff

    diego says:
    Apr 26, 2012

  • i need one… how much? PASSION LIVES HERE)))

    crows says:
    Apr 26, 2012

  • really?

    surprised says:
    Apr 26, 2012

  • Absurd design of senseless minds.

    typomachina says:
    Apr 26, 2012

  • Giant Cheese Grater

    iDisagree says:
    Apr 27, 2012

  • I want one to go jogging with.

    The neighbours already think I\’m nuts – may as well confirm it.

    douglas says:
    Apr 27, 2012

  • I expected more. After all these are the Olympics.

    tenyo says:
    Apr 29, 2012

  • Regardless, I still think it is a beautiful object and appreciate the symbolism behind the various formal elements of the design.

    Basel says:
    Apr 30, 2012

  • Beautiful design!

    [url=http://www.budgetplaces.com] hotels in London [/url]

    Marian says:
    May 02, 2012

have something to add? share your thoughts in our comments section below.

comments policy
LOG IN
designboom's comment policy guidelines
generally speaking, if we publish something, it's because we're genuinely interested in the subject. we hope you'll share this interest and if you know even more about it, please share! our goal in the discussion threads is to have good conversation and we prefer constructive opinions. we and our readers have fun with entertaining ones. designboom welcomes alerts about typos, incorrect names, and the like.
the correction is at the discretion of the post editor and may not happen immediately.

what if you disagree with what we or another commenter has to say?
let's hear it! but please understand that offensive, inappropriate, or just plain annoying comments may be deleted or shortened.

- please do not make racist, sexist, anti-semitic, homophobic or otherwise offensive comments.
- please don't personally insult the writers or your fellow commenters.
- please avoid using offensive words, replacing a few letters with asterisks is not a valid workaround.
- please don't include your website or e-mail address in your comments for the purpose of self-promotion.
- please respect jury verdicts and do not discuss offensively on the competition results
(there is only one fist prize, and designboom usually asks renown professionals to help us to promote talent.
in addition to the awarded designs, we do feel that almost all deserve our attention, that is why we publish
the best 100-200 entries too.)

a link is allowed in comments as long as they add value in the form of information, images, humor, etc. (links to the front page of your personal blog or website are not okay). unwelcome links (to commercial products or services of others, offensive material etc. ) will be redacted. and, ... yes, spam gets banned. no, we do not post fake comments.

forgot password

(33 articles)

(47 articles)

(207 articles)

PRODUCT LIBRARY

a diverse digital database that acts as a valuable guide in gaining insight and information about a product directly from the manufacturer, and serves as a rich reference point in developing a project or scheme.

design news

THE DESIGN PRIZE 2019 nominations are... THE DESIGN PRIZE 2019 nominations are...
mar 21, 2019

THE DESIGN PRIZE 2019 nominations are...

#design

THE DESIGN PRIZE has become an institution of the city of milan and the third edition of the international award will inaugurate milan design week 2019.

THE DESIGN PRIZE has become an institution of the city of milan and the third edition of the international award will inaugurate milan design week 2019.

#design

all design news