Dissecting the Qatar 2022 Logo

The world cup is a phenomenal global event that brings together the finest footballing nations to one place to battle it out for the ultimate trophy. Football brings passions, memories, loyalties and rivalries to life, with people around the globe screaming and cheering at their TV screens. From the deserts of the Sahara to the forests of Indonesia, you can be rest assured Football captures the imagination of everyone, even those that rarely watch it.

We just witnessed the unveiling of the Qatar 2022 emblem in Doha with projections across 24 major cities worldwide, but this is where many of us creatives noticed some issues with the new identity.

Qatar is a small nation rich in culture and heritage that has truly transformed itself over the last few decades. It is quite impressive that within such a short space of time, they've found a way to fuse their own identity through big and ambitious projects in arts, culture and architecture. Now with the 2022 World Cup, again Qatar is getting international recognition and it is a commendable achievement. The host nation has faced a barrage of criticism and controversies on many fronts (we won't get into that here) but it has remained steadfast in focusing on its goal to showcase and welcome its international guests for an event not to be forgotten.

Do you remember the original logo that was unveiled upon announcement of the 2022 host nation? Well, it was pretty awful and it really set the tone for the next sloppy attempt. I've seen this laziness time and time again when it comes to designing anything for an Arab client or brand.

It is grating to see (above) the overly 'Arabised' (aka Ali Baba or Aladdin type) latin typography being used. It's a cliché that points to the ignorance and insensitivity of designers/agencies when it comes to regional design and history. 

The current logo not only shows a lack of cultural integrity, but to add insult to injury, the calligraphic Arabic in the Q is also poorly executed. It beggars belief as to why a non-calligrapher would have been employed to undertake this.

World Cup emblems have a history of poor design

The World Cup is probably one of the most challenging events to design for. Aside from having a whole nation's eyes on it, you have a global audience trying to connect with its legacy - both visually and emotionally. Historically, World Cup logos have not generally been on the ball. Evidently, there is far too much going on in most of these logos. Call it over-design or over-compensation for all of the stakeholders, the logos often become a design car crash. With the exception of a few, they all hint at several things:

• A reference to the football itself or a circular/spherical element
• More recently a focus on the shape of the trophy
• A multitude of colours and graphics

Identity marks are often a lot simpler, cleaner and versatile in their form and become easy to use and reproduce. The minimal approach allows for easy recognition and readability with the purpose of memorability. A lot of these emblems can be easily forgotten and difficult for an average person to redraw from memory.

Without doubt, this is no easy project for any agency. More often than not, it's a tug of war between creatives and clients: the battleground between a board of executives, state leaders and officials all vying for their input, and all the while an agency is desperately trying to include the mandatory symbolism, meaning and metaphors to keep everyone happy. But where do you draw the line?

Breaking down the emblem

I will point out that I don't know the entire history of the development of this emblem, nor the issues, hurdles or ultimate challenges faced by the designers or agencies involved, what I do note here are the issues I personally have with the newly proposed identity.

The new emblem was launched with much fanfare and a series of videos that attempt to introduce the identity in context. This is mostly achieved well and you see how the twisted infinity symbol comes to be in the final animation.

I will attempt to point out the concerns I have but let us see what the rationale has been for the identity:

An official description:

"The emblem’s design embodies the vision of an event that connects and engages the entire world, while also featuring striking elements of local and regional Arab culture and allusions to the beautiful game.

The swooping curves of the emblem represent the undulations of desert dunes and the unbroken loop depicts both the number eight – a reminder of the eight astonishing stadiums that will host matches – and the infinity symbol, reflecting the interconnected nature of the event. Besides echoing the shape of the iconic FIFA World Cup Trophy, the emblem’s central form takes inspiration from a traditional woollen shawl. During winter months, shawls are worn around the world and in the Arab and Gulf region in particular by a variety of people and in various styles."

Let's begin with each point and my concerns:

'Intriguing 3D object'

The shawl ("????? ??????"), twisted 8 and infinity symbol - I really don't want to knock this concept; I do like the idea of the infinity symbolism that forms the twisted figure 8 (eight stadiums) but also mimics the silhouette of the world cup trophy. So much going on! In many ways the simplicity of the shape is sufficient as a symbol and has endless possibilities. A friend pointed out that it seems to be inspired by a Lorenzo Quinn sculpture:

The small bumps on the 'shawl' are really not doing this symbol any favours, it really feels forced and unnecessary.

What irks me are all the unnecessary additional design elements that were incorporated, which bring little dimension or meaning to the emblem.

There was little point in including an ornate decorative pattern - it is lost on most people, and it isn't even distinct to Qatar or the region. While I wouldn't encourage the typical geometric patterns of the region (Islamic geometry) that are overly used anyway, Qatar is full of floral and other geometric patterns that adorn its older architecture (see here). I like how the Qatar National Museum's architecture (Jean Nouvel) was born out of the desert rose, I feel it has more of a relevance to Qatar than the floral pattern employed here. Moreover, the pattern is also applied awkwardly and may not be replicated in the overall branding execution beyond the logo – we'll have to wait and see.

One colleague said it reminds them of porcelain tea cups, another felt it was too delicate, whilst others saw it as a charity awareness ribbon.

The addition of the nuqat (diacritic) marks is again such a small detail that it will be easily lost on many observers. And everyone will surely mistake the small football with that of a generic circular pattern. The detail is too small and any reproduction of the emblem at a smaller scale will ensure the legibility of these minute details are lost. I am yet to see a monochrome render of this logo also.

Finally, the flowing shawl fabric reminds me of milk being poured in those Labanita commercials. According to officials, the colour is of the pearls traditionally fished from the surrounding waters of the island nation - again not obvious, but I'll take their word for it.

Typographic design

The emblem also features hand-drawn typography - an empty attempt at having something 'unique' to reference its host nation's Arabic culture.

But it falls head-first into the same typographic cliché that many branding projects for Middle Eastern organisations stumble into. I am not entirely sure whether it is the agencies' fault or if clients request it, but the use of Arabised latin typography is in the same guise as fonts that look like stereotypical Chinese or Indian scripts like these below

The elongation or tatwil (?????) in the word Qatar would be lost on many as a design feature and in turn make many read it as Qat-ar. Don't get me wrong, I love the subtle touch as an Arabic typographer myself, but to a global audience, this detail is something that won't be obvious even when explained. Do note that in the video animation, it does appear without the elongation and then it extends outwards. It may be that in the Arabic version of this logo, if there is one, the elongation (???????????) is required and this is mimicking that?

Another gripe is the forced usage of the diacritic dot in the oddly shaped zero of 2022 as superfluous detail.

I wonder if this is really a modified font rather than something very customised, I could be wrong. It's not clear at this moment if this is a full typeface that would be used for titles and headings.

I also have an issue with the overall sizing and composition of the typography and feel it should give more emphasis to 'Qatar 2022'.

None of my criticisms are of Qatar as a nation – I have worked on many projects with results I am proud of for Qatar clients. But I can't help but be frustrated at the common mistakes and tropes employed in this logo that lets it down on many fronts. Again, I do feel the infinity symbol that creates the shape of the cup works, but falls short when it is overly decorated and not used in a more dynamic way.

Dealing with challenges

Whenever you are tasked with such a project you have to be prepared to tackle a wide range of issues, the following are common issues from experience:

1. Lack of cultural awareness - this is a big sticking point, the basis of any design exercise must be informed by history, culture, artistic and design traditions. Often, many western agencies who are tasked with these jobs, are greatly lacking in the basics of the region let alone the individual country they are working for (no two Arab countries are the same!)
2. Limited awareness of design trends, tropes, cliches and bad practice can lead to a lot of outcomes that will quickly make the project look dated and out of character. One should not be designing in a vacuum nor from only a single vantage point.
3. Your client's requirements are not the same as your audiences – this is often clear in projects where the aim or purpose of the brand is to serve the end user. Understanding how it works amongst both the host nation and the wider global audience is imperative and while it may champion the local culture and heritage, it mustn't be lost on your guests who will adopt it, wear it and cherish the memory of it.
4. Employing experts in the field of design is crucial. To many, it may come as a surprise but some local designers in the region have little to no experience in Arabic typographic design or calligraphy – for various reasons from availability of local resources, courses and a heavily self-taught culture. What may come as a bigger surprise is the gaping lack of understanding of local artistic history and culture. Many foreign creative agencies often find this the biggest challenge, which often leads them to make some obvious and predictable mistakes.
5. Confidence in design is important. While the London 2012 branding came under heavy fire, what many won't dispute is the varied way the identity came alive in its execution – the form was simple enough that the application resulted in a detailed, rich and varied identity. It certainly isn't forgotten and that is a testament. Designers and clients should not be afraid of pulling back the reins and being confident in the minimalism of design.

But, what are your thoughts? Let me know what you make of the new emblem and if you think it reflects the host nation.

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Ruh Al-Alam is an award-winning British designer, creative entrepreneur, typographer and calligrapher. He is the founder and creative director of specialist Arabic-design agency Archetype (www.archetype.xyz) in London. See more of his personal work at ruhalalam.com.