Olympic Tickets, Etc.

If you have any interest in the design and branding of the Olympics, or of any large scale event, for that matter, you must visit theolympicdesign.com. Markus W. Osterwalder is a Swiss graphic designer and an Olympic design scholar and historian. He writes about his interest in the games and his creation of this incredible design resource.

Ever since the Olympic Winter Games of Lillehammer in 1994 I have been visiting all the Games. By monitoring locally, reading, researching and collecting I was able to get an overview and to form a judgement about the quality of design. Whenever possible I contacted key people of the Communication & Design Department to talk about processes and problems in the development of the design. Sometimes even after the events.

I’m assuming he’s in Vancouver right now, observing, collecting and documenting …


Athens 1896. St. Louis 1904, London 1908, Anvers 1920, Paris 1924, Berlin 1936, Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956, Rome 1960, Munich 1972, Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010

MASCOT: Munich 1972, "Waldi"
OFFICIAL REPORT: Los Angeles 1932
PICTOGRAMS
Top: Grenoble 1968, Mexico 1968
Bottom: Montréal 1976, Salt Lake 2002

TORCHES: London 1948, Innsbruck 1964, Lake Placid 1980
WINNER MEDAL: St. Moritz 1928

All images are from theolympicdesign.com. Markus Osterwalder's collections include some 12,000 items in the following categories:

Objects
Papers Electronical Files
• Winners Medals
• Winners Diplomas
• Participation Medals
• Participation Diplomas
• Torches
• Badges
• Pins
• Host Country Stamps
• First Day Covers
• Mascots
• Merchandising
• Uniform Volunteers
• Uniform Torch Relay
• Opening Ceremony Kit
• Closing Ceremony Kit

Papers
• Design Manuals/Guidelines
• Official Reports
• Bid Books
• Souvenir Programme
• Daily Programme
• Sport Regulations
• Official Guides
• Official Results
• Books
• Pre-Olympic Newsletters
• Brochures
• Opening Ceremony Programme
• Closing Ceremony Programme
• Opening Ceremony Tickets
• Closing Ceremony Tickets
• Sport Event Tickets
• Accreditations
• Volunteers Material
• Paralympic Games
• Official Posters
• Sport Posters
• Art Posters
• Advertising Posters
• Mascot Posters
• Torch Relay Posters


Electronic Files
• Graphic Files like:
• Bid Logos
• Olympic Emblems
• Pictograms
• Mascots
• Secondary Marks Logos
• Look of the Games Design

What I Didn't Blog This Month

I sometimes find myself not blogging something visually interesting, cool, or even infographics-related, because absolutely every other visual blog has covered it.

Whereas print is a scarcity model of the finite page and limited shelf space (for which everyone competes), the Web is an abundance model. It’s a newsstand that is infinite, and you never run out of ink or paper. In fact, the only way anything gets noticed is by getting attention in lots of places—which in turn generates even more attention, in even more places. So repeated coverage is, in a sense, how the Web/blogosphere works.

My prehistoric brain, however, which was encoded during the “print era”, still turns away--either by habit or reflex--from blogging what everyone else has covered. After all, who needs me to show them what they have surely seen somewhere else.

But I know how we all “miss class” certain days. So for anyone who may have slept through the month of January, here are a few items I didn’t post.

Charting the Beatles
Michael Deal's exhaustive tracking of Beatles songwriting and recording. Very beautiful.



The 2009 Feltron Annual Report
An exhaustive tracking of the events in the life of Nicholas Feltron, by Nicholas Feltron, during 2009. Also very beautiful.
Reports from previous years



iPad ... and The Jokes
See more at Jezebel.