London 2012 Graphics

I thought I'd have a go at trying out some graphics for the Olympic Games, following on from a couple of others I've seen on here (although I know I'll never be able to improve on dosxuk's skills!). It's worth noting that not only is this my first time attempting a mock, it's also my first time using Photoshop- so I am very much a beginner at this, however I'd love you guys to help me learn and get better

I decided to try and use the London 2012 logo which was used for the Olympic bid as my starting point:
http://www.londonpins.co.uk/images/12%20Logos/Bid_Logo.jpg

Here's a couple of initial ideas I came up with for both a lower third graphic and clock:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/141/olympictest.jpg

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4461/olympictest2.jpg

I am just a beginner, as you can tell- so I'd appreciate any comments (good or bad) as well as any advice or ideas you all have on how I can make these better, and then I can start making more and improving them. Thanks!

Too big, rings are a bit thin, and also no point in using the current 'London 2012' font with the bid logo.

They're an OK start, but they need a lot of improving, I don't really see why you're using the candidate city brand in any way, as it seems terribly dated now.

Funny, every time I see the original London 2012 Olympics Logo, I'm reminded of that Doctor Who episode.

Need a lot of improvement there, they look to big onscreen! More examples are needed here to make people go WOW.
Before opening this, I was thinking, this should be another dosxuk achievement, opened, oh a let down, make sure you stay within safe areas, and keep fonts equal, Noticed you've used the current London 2012 font on the second example. Maybe you should plan this more better? Come back to The Gallery when it's once completed!

Thanks for all your comments so far. It's worth mentioning again that this is my first attempt at anything like this, so please don't expect anything even close to dosxuk's standard! I am doing this as a learning exercise. I'll make some changes based on what you've all said and see if they're any better.

Okay, so since the last idea wasn't exactly met with too much praise- I went back to the drawing board and took on your advice and I've come up with hopefully something a little more refined. I've based it a bit more on the current OBS look, and hopefully the sizing etc. is now more in proportion with the correct standards.

Again, I'm just showing a couple of ideas for now, rather than a full set of graphics so that I can keep taking on your constructive advice and comments and improve on them, and then hopefully develop a full set. Thanks!

So here's my new lower third design:
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4805/olympicnew.jpg

And an example of a race startlist, with country flags, abbreviations and athletes names:
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9223/startlisti.jpg

Theyre not great, but could quite easily be seen on screen, definite improvement.

I would however take a look at some sport graphics from other places such as BBC / ITV / Sky, not necessarily Olympics, but they do all have things in common that I think you will find are missing from your mock.

Things I don't like... keyline aroung the lane numbers box, and the text in drop shadow. I would also perhaps put in dividers so its easier to differentiate the different lanes, this will also make it easier when your split times are listed.

Definitely showing improvement and ability to act on advice... this makes me happy.

Thanks for the advice- it means a lot that you think I'm improving, I do feel like I'm learning all the time, which is the reason I started posting on the Gallery in the first place!

I'll definitely take a look at some other graphics and add to mine, is there anything in particular you think is missing, just as an example?

When you say you don't like the drop shadow effect on the text, do you mean just on the lane numbers, or on all the graphics in general? I did try it without but I thought it made the text look slightly bland. I did actually start off with divider lines between the lanes, but it seemed a bit too busy- I'll try again maybe thinning them out again.

Thanks again for your comments- I'm always happy to act on constructive advice like this