Maishima Sports Island (舞洲スポーツアイランド) is a park with sports facilities on the artificial island of Maishima in Konohana-ku, Osaka, Japan. Its official name under the Osaka City Ordinance is Osaka Port Sports Island.[1] The park opened in the 1990s, developed as part of Osaka’s bid for the Summer Olympics.[2]
Design and History
No official logo for Maishima Sports Island itself has been documented in available sources. The most prominent visual identity associated with the site is the logo for the “Maishima Project” (舞洲プロジェクト), also known as the Maishima Sports Promotion Project, launched in spring 2017 by Osaka City together with three professional sports teams based on the island: Orix Buffaloes (baseball), Cerezo Osaka (soccer), and Osaka Evessa (basketball).[3]
The Maishima Project logo was selected through a public design competition organized by the Maishima Sports Promotion Project Council, chaired by the mayor of Osaka. The call for entries ran from January 20 to February 15, 2017, and drew 315 submissions.[4] The winning design was announced on March 16, 2017.[5]
The winning entry was submitted by a 36-year-old resident of Sapporo, Hokkaido, identified only by the surname Kobayashi.[4] The selected design was adopted as the symbol mark for the Maishima Project and used across events, posters, leaflets, and websites.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Maishima Project logo depicts the shape of Maishima at its center, surrounded by dynamic silhouettes of athletes from the three professional sports active on the island: baseball, soccer, and basketball.[5] According to the official selection rationale, the design was chosen because it directly conveys that sports promotion centered on professional sports was beginning in Maishima, and because it was deemed suitable for raising awareness of the Maishima Project’s goal of revitalizing the area through sports.[3]
The competition brief asked for a design that would make it clear that sports promotion activities were being developed in Maishima and that would foster affection for the area.[6]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
