Let me start this post out with two brief disclosures:

1. Probably any MMA fighter working today could turn me into a bloody pulp in less than half a round.
2. This commentary is in no way intended to question the sexuality of MMA fighters (not that it really matters anyway).

However, that being said, I think it is about time for a normal I stop and watch a UFC fight from time to time when it’s playing at my local sports bar or when I’m flipping channels and see it on TV person addresses the sweating, leg-locked elephant in the corner.

What is that issue? Simply put, the “Missionary Position” seems to be the Definitive image of the sport. Every sport has a particular image that you conjure to mind when someone mentions watching a game. It is usually the image that captures the majority of a sporting event’s TV time. When you think football, the first image to mind is a panned out shot going straight down the line of scrimmage. You see the offensive line, backfield, and a couple recievers on one half of the screen, and the defensive line, backfield, and one or two corner backs on the opposite side. When you think baseball, the image that usually appears on screen is a medium shot, coming from just behind (and at an angle) of the pitcher, with the catcher, batter, and home plate umpire fixed just to his right.

When you think of Mixed Martial Arts competitions like UFC, you conjure to mind the image that is predominately on screen: that of two sweating, muscular men locked in the missionary position. One lays on his back with his legs wrapped tightly around the opponent’s waist, who is perched on his knees as the two tightly embrace.

Even though this position takes the majority of the camera time in MMA fighting, I had to flip through almost 20 pages of Google Image results to finally find some that would illustrate my point here. Why is that? Obviously, even though it is so common in fights, it is not the image that fans are lining up to show on their blogs and Flickr feeds. They’re interested in the boxing and kicking and more interesting feats of wrestling/submission. In other words, the fans don’t really care for this image either.

It seems almost any fight will start with boxing, and then degenerate until the two men are locked in Missionary. I know that UFC is no-holds-barred… But maybe, to add interest in the sport, we should consider barring this one.

The new logo for the Olympic games to be held in London has caused quite a controversy. It is sad that every time graphic design appears in the news it is always a torch-mob level event, with a whole community furious at how much money was spent to create something “bad.” Of course, that’s how the news works: bad news makes money, but most areas of interest find ways to make the news in good ways too.

Design Observer has a great article and comment thread about this topic, you can read it here. My comments on the subject are below:

I cringed when I saw this logo too. But now, a couple days later, I can say that I don’t hate it, though I’m not sure if I can say that I like it. In other words, it is starting to grow on me a bit. Regardless, there are some composition elements, such as the weird square in the middle and the small “London,” that are really bugging me. Why couldn’t “London” have been pulled out of the typography of the “2012″?

But here’s the thing: In the past Olympic logos have often been stale and completely boring. We can all agree that this logo does not fall into that category. What have the past logos done to push the Olympic brand forward? I think that, for the most part, they have just maintained the status quo (the Chicago torch logo proposed by VSA was pretty good, but look what happened to it).

So, even though I’m not sold on this logo, I want to point out the things I like about it:

I am thrilled by the fact that no city landmarks were included. We all know that Paris has an Eiffel Tower, London has Big Ben, Chicago has the Sears Tower, NY has the statue of Liberty, etc. These landmarks are included in every tourist pamphlet, logo and website. Therefore, please spare me the municipal cliches and show me something different.

This logo is reaching out to the Under-30 audience. Most of the Olympic Games’ established audience will watch every 4 years regardless of the logo. They are already sold, and no logo is needed to “sell ‘em more.” Young people, however, finally get to see a logo that relates to their tastes and aesthetics.

Randomness and chaos are not just visual fads: they have become an essential part of the internet generation’s thinking. That is why there are thousands of popular websites full of nothing but utter chaos: You’re The Man Now Dog, Youtube, WTF CNN, etc. The random, the unexpected, the childishly silly: these things are practically worshipped by the new generation. This logo reflects those values and attempts, in a very tongue-in-cheek/self-concious way, to say that the Olympic games are full of life and drama, not just stale sporting events for Mom and Dad.

The best example of this is the commercial that depicted a diver (the one that was pulled off air). For many people, diving is pretty boring. Someone jumps into a pool while a panel of judges nit pick their form. But in the commercial, bright colors undulate over the diver, who then jumps into a pool of pure, seizure-inducing psychadelia. It is okay to laugh here: this is tongue in cheek… and though I, like most people, will never sit down for an hour and watch a diving competition, I will always remember that image, and I am now more aware of diving.

The logo has its ups and downs, but hopefully future designers, because of this new precedent, won’t feel inclined to repeat, yet again, the old Olympic logo traditions.