X Games, as an officially organized sporting event, started in 1993. The progenitor of these competitions was the ESPN TV channel. Athletes competed in nine sports categories: bungee jumping, eco-challenge, roller skating, skateboarding, skysurfing, sport climbing, street tobogganing, sledding, cycling, and water sports.
At the beginning of the 20th century, and in the middle of the century, sports called “extreme”, i.e. sports where you sometimes have to pay for a mistake with your life, began to gain popularity.
So, in the early 1990s popular sports channel ESPN, seeing the wave of enthusiasm for sports, which were not held any official competitions due to their danger, decided to organize sports games for extreme sportsmen.
The first such games were held in 1995. They were held at once in two American states — Vermont and Royle Island. Almost two hundred thousand people gathered to watch the competition. The organizers did not expect such a success among spectators. Initially, it was planned to organize such games every two years, but after the first success the periodicity was changed, and now the games are held once a year. To the summer games in 1997, winter games were added, which also found their admirers.
So, X Games are divided into summer and winter. In summer, BMX, skateboarding, and motorcycle racing competitions are held. BMX and skateboarding are held in the park and on the mega ramp, motorcycle racing comes in several types: off-road races and two types of rally races – single and mass, as well as moto freestyle. In winter, the best athletes are chosen in freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling. Some X Games disciplines are part of the Olympic Games program.
X Games has its legends. The most famous one is Dave Mirr who has won ten titles in different competitions. Fabiola da Silva took the gold medal in roller skating stunts 7 times in a row. Skateboarders Tony Hawk and Andy MacDonald have held the top spot in solo events for six years in a row. In total, they have each earned 15 medals.
The youngest winner of the extreme games is Ryan Sheckler. He took the gold medal at the age of 13 in skateboarding.
What is X Games?
X Games is the name of an annual sporting event dedicated to extreme sports. The World Extreme Games are divided into summer and winter events. In summer, BMX, skateboarding, and motorcycle racing competitions are held.
In terms of visual identity, X Games is very brutal and modern. The logo is based on massive shapes and stable characters, evoking a sense of strength and determination.
The original X Games logo, created in 1995, has stayed with the extreme competition for almost ten years. It was quite an amateurish (for today) design, based on a graphical emblem, replacing the “X” and the elegant black title case “Games” in an italicized sans-serif with the flared underline narrowed and pointing to the right. As for the graphical part, it was a large red “X” resembling a human standing with his hands up, and a globe contoured in thin black lines, replacing the head.
The redesign of 2004 has introduced a completely rethought version of the X Games logo, which is all about minimalism and brutality. It is a massive cross-like “X” as the main element of the composition. The symbol is outlined in black and has a black-and-white globe placed in its center. The emblem is accompanied by an extra-bold uppercase “Games” in black geometric sans-serif typeface. For the winter games, the red X gets replaced by the blue one, and the uppercase “Winter” Wordmark gets written above it.
The heavy and stable lettering from the official logo of X Games is set in the uppercase of an extra-bold geometric sans-serif typeface, which looks quite similar to such commercial fonts as ATF Franklin Gothic, Ryman Gothic, or Franklin Gothic Raw.
As for the color palette of the X Games visual identity, it had two versions — red and black for the summer edition, and blue and black for the winter games. Both schemes look intense and full of energy, transmitting the purpose of the brand.