Introduction

By all accounts the 2012 London Olympics were a triumph. As well as heroic sporting performances, fantastic organization and wonderful opening and closing ceremonies, the Games were also a triumph for the British creative sector (broadly construed), including architecture, arts, business and design. The design of the Olympic torch was a high-profile example of what Britain’s creative sector could do. Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby’s triangular design drew inspiration from three trinities—the Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, the fact that the 2012 Games were the third to be held in London, and the vision for London 2012 which was to unite sport, education and culture. The torch (made from gold PVD-finished aluminium) involved an innovative design balancing weight, an easily viewed fuller flame and, of course for safety, dissipation of the flame away from the handle. The design included 8,000 holes to represent the same number of runners and the miles run in the Olympic torch relay. Such was its success that the torch was listed among the Design Museum’s 2012 designs of the year and Barber and Osgerby each received an Order of the British Empire for services to design.