The Rings of Inequalities

What will remain of these Olympics? Besides the athletes’ performances we will all certainly remember the magnificence of the opening ceremony and the final national teams parade (with some extravagances). We weren’t the only one to consider it paradoxical that the only occasion in which all countries decide to put their conflicts aside and gather together in peace was for a sport competition. This is the reflection that inspired Oceaniaeuropeamericaasiaafrica, an animated infographic created by Goustavo Sousa, a designer, painter and creative director at Mother’s London office, who used the Olympic rings to represent the differences among the five continents. “The rings represent healthy competition and union, but we know the world isn’t perfect. Maybe understanding the differences is the first step to try to make things more equal.” Said Sousa in an interview to the online magazine Co.Design. A live projection and 16 prints, one for each day of the Games, will be exhibited during the festivities. The data concern different aspects representative of the life conditions in the continents, but it is not clearly indicated to which continents the data belong. "The reason I didn’t reveal which is which because you can almost figure that out as you read through; I thought that process of discovery was interesting.”