AisleOne. A visual journal on design, photography, film, music and culture.
Before the Olympics Games begin, the organizing committee has test events to prepare and rehearse things like transportation, guest services, results/scoring, etc. The design teams also test things like printing and installations, so they create an identity different from what they created for the real games. These are some of the posters created for these “test event” for the 1976 Montréal games. I’ve never seen these before. What a gem.
The 1972 and 1976 Olympics are often referred to as having the best graphic identity systems, but the one for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico is often overlooked. It’s right up there, in my opinion. The excellent site, Graphic Ambient, has a great visual overview of the identity system, including a list of the design team.
Saw this ’72 Munich Olympics Merchandise Catalog over at the Creative Review blog and thought it was pretty neat. When we think of the Munich Olympics identity, we always think about the great posters, brochures and programs, but in fact there was a ton of other items that were just as great. Love those striped tote bags. All of these other goodies, along with this catalog, were created by the German firm, Fahnen-Fleck.
Read more over at Creative Review.
The 1976 Winter Olympic Games were originally awarded to the city of Denver, but they withdrew after some financial concerns. But during the bid, Massimo Vignelli designed a few things, including this wonderful candidate poster. This is one of my personal favorite posters from that era, the way the 76 is cropped off acts as a teaser.
I’ve been very lucky to finally find a copy of the Graphics Manual for the 1976 Montréal Olympics, which is my personal favorite Olympic identity. I’m a little obsessed with collection pieces from these games. I particularly fond of graphics manuals like this because they provide a window into the the thinking and process behind the identity system. It’s the closest you get to having the designer explain the system, in this case Georges Huel and Pierre-Yves Pelletier.
A great Flickr set by Toby Barnes of an exhibit of Otl Aicher’s graphic design work for the 1972 Munich Olympiad. Curated by Bibliotheque.