Lake Placid 1980: Sports Pictograms

Lake Placid 1980: Sports Pictograms

Designer: Alfred Kunzenmann

The 14 sports pictograms used during the Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games have the same basic structure as those of the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, which were designed by the Austrian graphic artist Alfred Kunzenmann. With the exception of the two-man bob pictogram, however, all pictograms were mirrored vertically, giving them a slightly different look than in the previous Winter Games. It was probably the first time that the sports pictograms were not only used on information boards and tickets, but also as decorative elements at sports facilities, as illustrated by the photo of the award ceremony for the alpine ski run shown below. In addition, special pictograms were designed for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, which differ from each other in the sign language. Nevertheless, the designer of these pictograms is unknown to this day.