Olympic Pictrograms for Rio 2016 Released…What do you think?

Creative Olympic Pictrograms for Rio 2016 Released…What do you think?

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Ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics, the country has released a creative and innovative set of sport pictograms in readiness for the event. The pictograms are individual representations of all Olympic and Paralympic sports and will serve as visual signposts for a variety of purposes.

Beth Lula, the Brand Director for Rio 2016 points out that the pictograms will help the public to quickly recognise which sports are being promoted and where. “From now until 2016, the pictograms will serve as a communication platform for the promotion of the sports, for partner activations, and will be present in all the Games’ visual identity, including their application in venue decoration, signposting, tickets and licensed products, among other things.”

The pictograms, 64 in all, were designed first by hand and then further honed on a computer; each pictogram has been inspired by the fluidity of the athlete’s movements and each sport was thouroughly researched before its pictogram was finalised.

The word “pictogram” has it’s origins in Greek and Latin and means “painted word” which was the inspiration behind the simple but effective idea. For the Paralympics’ pictograms, the creative team were keen to incorporate the athlete’s different disabilities in a powerful and dynamic way; wheelchairs and prosthesis are included in the pictograms and are neatly combined into the actions of the figures.

The pictograms are contained within pebble shapes which are altered in their angles according to the actions of the figure within; the president of Rio 2016 Carlos Nuzman said, “For the first time, all Olympic and Paralympic sports are individually represented. This is one of our unique contributions to the history of the Games. I congratulate the creative team for their dedication and hard work together with diverse groups who contributed to the launch.”

The pictograms take their inspiration not only from the sports which they depict, but also from the typography of the Rio 2016 logo. The letters of the logo are deliberately designed to show energy, passion and power and the fluidity of the characters is reflected in that of the pictograms. The letters of the logo and the images in the pictograms are shown with a single stroke to represent the swift movements of athletes.

The creative team behind the design was set up internally via the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and was also supported by 28 other staff who were directly involved in the project.

What do you think of the new designs? 

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