London 2012 Olympic pictograms

posted on October 20 by DesignAddict.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games unveiled the London Olympic pictograms which will be used during the Olympic Games in 2012.

The 38 pictograms represent the sports and disciplines at the Games and will be used for signage, on tickets and on the field of play at Games-time, becoming an important ‘wayfinder’ tool for spectators.

The London 2012 pictograms were developed in consultation with each International Sporting Federation and have been designed to be vibrant and accurate depictions of each sporting discipline.

Olympic Games pictograms were first used at the 1948 Games in London and have become a regular feature of the Olympic movement since the Tokyo Games in 1964. The pictograms will be featured on limited edition adidas t-shirts on sale from October 24 2009 to celebrate 1000 days to go until the Olympic Games. There will be a full set of Paralympic pictograms which will be launched later this year.
The London 2012 Olympic pictograms designed by SomeOne represent each of the sports and disciplines of the Olympic Games.

There are two formats for each pictogram - a silhouette and a 'dynamic' version.

The 'dynamic' pictograms:
The dynamic format of the pictograms bring the representations to life. They will be used on merchandise, posters and sign-posts. They were inspired by the London Underground map.

The silhouette pictograms:

tags: graphic, outdoor, sport

8 comments so far:

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Billy S., on October 20:

I do like the graphics being what they are, however I do think I might like them more if the forms where broken down even more into simpler shapes, more on the abstract side of things.

Koen, on October 21:

The Black& white ones are not that forcefull but I like the coloured ones. The idea of "SOMEONE" to use a more realistic approach, rather than the highly stylised versions we have seen so often, is a welcome change. They did it already with the British Basketball brand and this is a nice follow up. The black and white ones are because of the rather large size of the frame, less dynamic. All in all I think they are a lot more accesible than a lot of what we have seen so far in the olympics

Heath, on October 23:

There is a very slight athenian figurative line to the black and white
symbols that I like, though I prefer the Aicher graphics for Munich.

I detest the coloured ones! I seem to have an almost physical reaction to
the colouring like they are shimmering and I can't focus on them. Does
anyone else experience this or is it time for another trip to the optometrist?

Rachel E, on October 26:

I agree with Billy S... I'd like like to see a more abstract pictogram. Though the detail does give the athletes some movement which is cool. I found a little bit of history on past Olympic designs and the artist who set the benchmark.
www.incdesign.com/blog/?p=162

Jyri Snellman, on October 29:

Now defunct Finnish Pahkasika satire magazine designed many funny pictograms for Helsinki-Vantaa Airport etc.

Antony Myer, on March 17:

so vivid and succint graphics!I like "black and white" variant more - it draws attention and remains in memory!

william, on May 30:

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anz, on May 6:

No offence to the designer but I don't like it at all. Looking back at past Olympics, the pictograms from Sydney, Greece and Beijing are more coherent in design, like even if you put them separately, you can tell from which year they belong to. The 2012 coloured ones are difficult to look at. They made it too complicated, and yet they are forgettable.

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