In gold position

So, with a final (and fittingly spectacular) flurry, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang is at an end.

And what a games – ever since my younger days of watching Ski Sunday I have always had a soft spot for adrenaline-fuelled snow sports (well, the romance of it at least) – and although my own alpine activities over the years have been considerably less fast-paced, who can resist the draw of the ice-cold competition that comes around only once every 4 years? Battles to shave a millisecond off that speed rink lap, inch out that 100+ metre ski jump or to land that frontside 1440 Bloody Dracula*, the Winter Olympics has it all.

So what better way to introduce this nail-biting and gruelling talent match each day than with the BBCs own title sequence to the games. Commissioned to Y&R London, the sequence features animations by directors Smith and Folks from Nexus Studios and emphasises the battle with fear that athletes must undertake and overcome in order to compete.

Not only a great piece of animation in its’ own right, but also a superb exemplar of the place that contemporary design and art direction can hold in modern society, on all our screens, whoever we are. Whether we celebrate ‘ice-cleaning’ (my siblings’ somewhat confused comprehension of curling), or the thrill of the Super-G, this sequence demonstrates how relevant and unifying great design can be – superb and confident illustration, brought to life with seamless animation – beautiful and evocative. Excellent work everyone involved.

* Most of the winter sport-specific terminology is way beyond me, however I must admit that whilst I dropped this one in to demonstrate that I was paying particular attention to the Big Air final, I was also quite often unsure as to the particulars of what it was that I was paying attention to.