Futurebrand works on Shanghai Olympics exhibition

Futurebrand is designing an exhibition about the Olympics for the Shanghai Expo UK pavilion, as part of its role as branding consultant for the 2012 games.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games appointed Futurebrand as its brand consultant in May last year.

’Futurebrand’s major work is on the look and feel for gamestime, encompassing how the venues are dressed and what branding appears in and around the venues,’ says a Locog spokesman. Titled the 2012 Legacy Corner and located in the base of the Heatherwick Studio-designed pavilion, the Shanghai exhibition will tell the story of the Olympic site over three illuminated panels, displayed against a backdrop of deconstructed 3D Union Jack flags.

The event spaces and corridors in the base of the £25m pavilion are being designed by Troika, which was appointed in December 2008 after Casson Mann left the project (DW 10 July 2008). A website, www.ukshanghaiexpo.com, launched its second stage earlier this month, with design by digital and marketing group Profero, which was founded in London and has a Shanghai office. UK Trade & Investment appointed Profero last summer following a public tender.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office declined to reveal details of the design tenders. ’We would not give information on individual pitches. The process was transparent and the panels chose the best applicant in terms of deliverability and price,’ she says. The website features Red Stone’s branding for the UK pavilion. The consultancy was appointed after a tender in July 2008. The website will feature a range of marketing campaigns rolling out before and during the expo.

The campaigns are being created by Profero with the Consulate General, and will make use of social media platforms including Facebook.

The first campaign asked the public to think of a nickname for the pavilion, which is being constructed out of 60 000 7.5m-long Perspex rods, each containing plant seeds and a light source that will illuminate the building at night. The winning nickname is ’dandelion’.

At the end of the expo, the pavilion will be dismantled and the heads of the rods, containing the seeds, will be distributed to schools across China.

The pavilion’s programme of events will see one week dedicated to the creative industries, during which Little Dipper founder Christine Losecaat will run the UKTI creative seminars at the pavilion. ’There is unsurprisingly quite a big focus on design at the pavilion,’ says Leigh Gibson, Expo Team director of content and programmes.