Olympic Pictograms Through the Ages

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:22:00 -0500

The New York Times has created a nice, informative video looking at the history of these little Olympic symbols, which started at the 1936 Berlin Games but only became standard starting in 1964 in Tokyo. (One original purpose was to communicate the different events to those who couldn’t read Japanese.)

I’ve always liked these little images. In some ways I think they’re better representations of each of the Games’ own identities, better than the logos or mascots which can get a little too whimsical for me. Based on the pictograms, the Vancouver Games seem to unfortunately be sleek and stylized but blandly mass-produced and free of identity.

(Shown above are the pictograms from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.)

Bonus: The greatest sport pictograms I’ve seen are from a non-Olympic tournament: the 2nd Islamic Solidarity Games, originally planned for this April but since canceled. They literally feature Pegasi (that famed winged horse) running, swimming, playing basketball, fencing, weightlifting, and yes, even playing wheelchair sports. A true joy to behold.

polar fleece

Olympic Pictograms Through the Ages