Pottery Backstamps

Those mysterious combinations of letters, numerals, pictograms, incised marks and assorted other identifying symbols found on pottery are called “backstamps.” Like every other specialized language, their meaning is beyond the comprehension of a layperson. But if you’ve ever watched a specialist on say, Antiques Roadshow divine detailed information about the who-what-where-when of manufacture from these cryptic marks, you’ve seen how laden with nuance they are to those in the know.

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