Rio 2016 recently launched its pictograms for all Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Sport pictograms are graphic icons facilitating the visual identification of each sport and are a games tradition. In 2016, each Olympic and Paralympic sport will be represented by a unique pictogram for the first time. The Rio Games have 64 in total – 41 Olympic and 23 Paralympic pictograms.

“For the first time, all Olympic and Paralympic sports are individually represented. This is one of our unique contributions to the history of the Games. I congratulate the creative team for their dedication and hard work together with diverse groups who contributed to this launch,” said Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman. 

The pictograms allow people from all parts of the world to immediately identify sports and are used to guide and inform the public, for example in venue signposting and on tickets.

Rio 2016’s Brand Director, Beth Lula, explained that the pictograms are important tools in a variety of contexts. “From now until 2016, the pictograms will serve as a communication platform for the promotion of the sports, for partner activations, and will be present in all the Games’ visual identity, including their application in venue decoration, signposting, tickets and licensed products, among other things.”

The word ‘pictogram’ comes from Greek and Latin, meaning ‘painted word’. This original meaning was the source of inspiration for the first strokes of the Rio 2016 pictograms, which were based on the official Rio 2016 typography. After researching each sport, the first outlines were made by hand. These strokes were then reconstructed on a computer, fitting the contours of the letters.

During the creative process for the Paralympic pictograms, Rio 2016’s team of designers sought to portray the integration of the athletes’ different impairments with sport in a balanced, natural way, depicting prostheses, blindfolds and other elements.

Here are the pictograms for the three IBSA sports on the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games programme:

Football 5-a-side Rio 2016 pictogram

Goalball Rio 2016 pictogram

Judo Rio 2016 pictogram