Core Concepts
The 2024 Paris Olympic pictograms represent a dramatic departure from the traditional pose-based designs, embracing a new "coat of arms" approach that prioritizes aesthetics, symbolism, and storytelling over pure legibility.
Abstract
The article discusses the design of the pictograms for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which mark a significant shift from the pose-based approach used in previous games. The author provides a detailed analysis of several key pictograms, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of this new "coat of arms" style.
The article begins by providing historical context on the evolution of Olympic pictograms, noting that the pose-based design has been the dominant approach since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, with only a few exceptions. The author then delves into the Paris 2024 pictograms, which completely depart from this tradition, instead using equipment, outfits, and venues to create visually striking, symmetrical designs.
The author examines several specific pictograms, such as Athletics, Breaking, Sport Climbing, Surfing, Diving, Triathlon, and Skateboarding. For the stronger designs, the author praises the clever use of symbolism and the ability to capture the unique essence of each sport. However, the author also identifies areas where the focus on aesthetics has come at the expense of legibility and clarity, particularly for more complex or unfamiliar sports.
Overall, the author acknowledges that the Paris 2024 pictograms represent a bold and innovative approach, but questions whether the trade-off between legibility and visual appeal is the right choice. The author suggests that the more unique the sport, the more powerful the pictogram, and that the designers have succeeded in creating a set of images that are meaningful, playful, and representative of the host city and its history.
Quotes
"The Paris Olympic Pictograms are a dramatic departure from the iconography of the past. These designs completely stripped down and rebuilt how to symbolize sports."
"My claim is: the more unique the sport, the more powerful the pictogram."
"In short, they do somewhat fail as utilities, and are passable as designs, but they take an extra step in representing all of the Olympic sports and that should be noted, perhaps celebrated."