The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Learn more about The One Show 2026
Category
Brand Installations
Annual ID
OS25_EX046M
Background
Paris is an icon—often reduced to postcards and clichés, from the Eiffel Tower to the Seine. Major international events tend to reinforce this predictable aesthetic, presenting the city through familiar landmarks rather than its dynamic, ever-evolving identity.
For the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the challenge was clear: go beyond the expected, moving away from a static, romanticized Paris to create an immersive experience that reflects the energy, diversity, and contemporary spirit of the city and its people.
Design Wide Open was born from this ambition: a radical departure from conventional event branding, transforming the city itself into an open, participatory stage for the Games. This was not just a visual identity but a living, adaptive system—one that invited Parisians and visitors alike to feel part of the event, with the streets, landmarks, and everyday spaces reimagined as vibrant, interactive expressions of sport and culture.
For the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the challenge was clear: go beyond the expected, moving away from a static, romanticized Paris to create an immersive experience that reflects the energy, diversity, and contemporary spirit of the city and its people.
Design Wide Open was born from this ambition: a radical departure from conventional event branding, transforming the city itself into an open, participatory stage for the Games. This was not just a visual identity but a living, adaptive system—one that invited Parisians and visitors alike to feel part of the event, with the streets, landmarks, and everyday spaces reimagined as vibrant, interactive expressions of sport and culture.
Creative Idea
Rather than imposing a rigid visual identity, Design Wide Open introduced a modular, adaptive system designed to blend seamlessly into the city’s fabric while amplifying its essence. The concept centered around the cobblestone—a symbol of Parisian streets—reimagined as a dynamic grid that connects sport, heritage, and local identity.
This graphic structure extended across multiple environments:
• Streets, plazas, and public spaces became vibrant, participatory installations.
• Cultural and historical sites were subtly integrated into the Games’ visual landscape.
• Fan zones and partner activations adopted the identity, creating a unified yet flexible aesthetic.
Paris 2024’s color palette balanced sophistication with energy, with the iconic Paris 2024 Pink as a unifying thread, ensuring a playful yet premium experience. More than a decorative layer, Design Wide Open was an invitation to experience the Games as a citywide celebration.
This graphic structure extended across multiple environments:
• Streets, plazas, and public spaces became vibrant, participatory installations.
• Cultural and historical sites were subtly integrated into the Games’ visual landscape.
• Fan zones and partner activations adopted the identity, creating a unified yet flexible aesthetic.
Paris 2024’s color palette balanced sophistication with energy, with the iconic Paris 2024 Pink as a unifying thread, ensuring a playful yet premium experience. More than a decorative layer, Design Wide Open was an invitation to experience the Games as a citywide celebration.
Insights & Strategy
The starting point was a fundamental shift in how the Olympics should visually integrate into an urban environment. Rather than relying on conventional branding approaches—oversized banners, predictable pictograms, and repetitive cityscape imagery—Design Wide Open embraced Paris as a playground, where design was not imposed but embedded into daily life.
Key strategic choices:
• From spectators to participants: Instead of passive observation, the visual identity invited interaction—whether through immersive installations, wayfinding systems, or architectural interventions.
• From clichés to authenticity: Avoiding overused symbols, the system drew from real Parisian materials, textures, and visual rhythms.
• From static to modular: The graphic grid allowed cities, venues, and partners to personalize their spaces while maintaining a coherent visual language, ensuring consistency without uniformity.
This was not just a look—it was a living system that adapted to different environments, making every location feel uniquely Parisian yet unmistakably part of the Games.
Key strategic choices:
• From spectators to participants: Instead of passive observation, the visual identity invited interaction—whether through immersive installations, wayfinding systems, or architectural interventions.
• From clichés to authenticity: Avoiding overused symbols, the system drew from real Parisian materials, textures, and visual rhythms.
• From static to modular: The graphic grid allowed cities, venues, and partners to personalize their spaces while maintaining a coherent visual language, ensuring consistency without uniformity.
This was not just a look—it was a living system that adapted to different environments, making every location feel uniquely Parisian yet unmistakably part of the Games.
Execution
The execution of Design Wide Open was a large-scale, multi-layered installation that took over Paris and host cities, merging graphic design with architecture, public space, and experiential marketing.
• Iconic locations transformed:
o The Sacré-Cœur steps became a vibrant, celebratory canvas.
o Public squares and fan zones turned into immersive arenas, visually and emotionally connected to the competition.
o Even airports, train stations, and urban transit carried the identity, creating a seamless journey into the Olympic experience.
• A flexible, evolving system:
o Sports and landmarks intertwined, creating a storytelling dimension across installations.
o Layered applications allowed for high-impact visuals while respecting the city’s aesthetics.
o Sustainability-first approach, using materials and formats designed for repurposing.
The end result: Paris itself became the Games' largest, most dynamic venue.
• Iconic locations transformed:
o The Sacré-Cœur steps became a vibrant, celebratory canvas.
o Public squares and fan zones turned into immersive arenas, visually and emotionally connected to the competition.
o Even airports, train stations, and urban transit carried the identity, creating a seamless journey into the Olympic experience.
• A flexible, evolving system:
o Sports and landmarks intertwined, creating a storytelling dimension across installations.
o Layered applications allowed for high-impact visuals while respecting the city’s aesthetics.
o Sustainability-first approach, using materials and formats designed for repurposing.
The end result: Paris itself became the Games' largest, most dynamic venue.
Results
Design Wide Open redefined how a city hosts the Olympic Games, creating an unprecedented experiential design system that blurred the lines between sport, culture, and public space.
• Public engagement at scale:
o Millions of visitors and residents interacted with the design daily, making it one of the most widely experienced Olympic visual identities ever.
o Social media flooded with organic shares of unexpected, localized expressions of the Games, proving the design’s cultural resonance.
• Seamless integration across stakeholders:
o Official partners, from Paris Aéroport to major sponsors, adopted the system, proving its adaptability.
o Host cities personalized their spaces, ensuring a consistent yet unique experience throughout France.
• A legacy beyond the Games:
o The methodology behind Design Wide Open set a new precedent for large-scale event design, proving that branding can be both immersive and integrated into the urban experience.
o Several key installations have been repurposed post-Games, extending the impact of the initiative beyond 2024.
By reinventing the city as an open, participatory canvas, Design Wide Open turned the Games into more than a sporting event—it became a cultural movement, rooted in the real, vibrant, and ever-changing identity of Paris.
• Public engagement at scale:
o Millions of visitors and residents interacted with the design daily, making it one of the most widely experienced Olympic visual identities ever.
o Social media flooded with organic shares of unexpected, localized expressions of the Games, proving the design’s cultural resonance.
• Seamless integration across stakeholders:
o Official partners, from Paris Aéroport to major sponsors, adopted the system, proving its adaptability.
o Host cities personalized their spaces, ensuring a consistent yet unique experience throughout France.
• A legacy beyond the Games:
o The methodology behind Design Wide Open set a new precedent for large-scale event design, proving that branding can be both immersive and integrated into the urban experience.
o Several key installations have been repurposed post-Games, extending the impact of the initiative beyond 2024.
By reinventing the city as an open, participatory canvas, Design Wide Open turned the Games into more than a sporting event—it became a cultural movement, rooted in the real, vibrant, and ever-changing identity of Paris.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
W Conran Design / Boulogne-Billancourt
Client / Brand
Paris 2024 COJOP / Paris
Chief Design Officer
Joachim Roncin
Creative Director
Jean-Jacques Charrais
Editor
Joao Leao
Executive Creative Director
Gilles Deléris
Producer
Ana Casagrande
Felipe Silvani
Awards Director
Sophie Lacheze
Brand Identity Associate Director
Camille Yvinec
Case Art Director
Landry Stark
Marcelo Bruzzesi
Creation and ceremony executive director
Thierry Reboul
Deputy Managing Director
Chloé Thomas
General Manager in charge of Strategies
Anaïs Guillemané-Mootoosamy
Project Manager
Maureen Perez-Guichard
Senior Brand Designer
Axel Leclerc
Senior brand project manager
Emilie Cren
Vice-President
Martin Piot
Related Awards
