Graphic Designer and Typographer (1922-1991)
How Otl Aicher's use of colours shaped visual communication in design today.
"Otl Aicher was more than a designer, illustrator, and photographer of international standing;he was a prolific author and polemicist - a man who saw design as a vehicle to promote modernist values" - (Mclaren P.6) Regarded as one of the most famous German graphic designers of all time, Otl Aicher, known for his corporate branding, designing the Lufthansa Airline logo and revolutionising the identity of the Olympic Games in Munich 1972.
Aicher was interested in corporate branding. In 1969 he was approached to design the logo for the German airline, Lufthansa. "There was no Artistic model for the corporate design of Lufthansa" - (Aicher. 1991 P.23). Otl Aicher, designed an identity around Lufthansa's crane design to give it a more modern appeal. One of his boldest moves was to focus on the colour yellow to promote the brand, he saw an opportunity in the market, no other airline used yellow in the way that Lufthansa does. In yellow he saw qualities such as speed, safety, freshness, agility, activity and engineering. (Opara and Cantwell 2013 P.38)
Aicher's most notable work came during 1972 when he was requested by the organisers of the Summer Olympics to be the Olympic Games’ lead designer. He received instructions that the design must compliment the newly built stadium in Munich. Aicher then approached Masaru Katzumie, the designer for the previous Olympic games in Tokyo 1964. He based his work partly on previous iconography to go on to creating a set of pictograms (Traganou, 2016, P.74 - 75).
"The pictograms for the Olympic games have became an international sign language taken for granted" - (Aicher. 1991. P.164)
Aicher and his use of colours, chose certain colours for the designs of the games to reflect the tones of the Alps. The mountains in blue and white would make up the palette of colours which also included, green for media, orange for technical departments and silver for public functions (Rathgeb, M, P.84). Uniforms of staff were also colour-coordinated to represent these themes.
Alongside designing the pictograms, Aicher also created the first ever Olympic mascot, Waldi, the striped Dachshund. Once again branding the mascot with the colours he used for the Olympic signage.
Waldi was more than just a mascot. The route of the city of Munich was shaped like a dachshund.
"The course was arranged so that the head of the dog faced west. Athletes ran counterclockiwise, starting at the back of the dog's neck, and then continued around its ears. The dog's mouth was represented by the path through Nymphenburg Park. His front feet composed the run through Hirschgarten. The belly of the dog included the main downtown street of Munich. It's feer, rear end, and tail were all in the English Garden. Athletes then continued along the back of the dog and eventually reached the Olympic stadium. A blue dashed line painted on the roadway indicated the route to both spectators and athletes" - (Martin and Gynn. 2000. P, 281)
Munich’s 72 branding always seems to remain current and set the standard for iconography. Aicher’s work is still referenced today, influencing stick figures used in signage such as public restrooms. "His goal was to standardize this pictorial language, giving it a grammar that would enable it to create messages" - (Rathgeb. 2006. P.116)
How many designers can say they’ve done that?
In summary Aicher's unique use of colour within his corporate branding was used like never before, i feel this use of colour has helped shape design and visual communication in signage today.
References:
Aicher, O., 2015. The World as Design. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley VCH.
Aicher, O., 1962, Lufthansa, Logo, [LOGO] Available at: https://1000logos.net/lufthansa-logo/
Aicher, O., 1972, Olympic mascot Waldi for the Olympics in Munich, [POSTER] Available at: https://veerle.duoh.com/inspiration/detail/form_53
Aicher, O., 1972, Poster artwork "Uniforms", Olympic Games 1972 in Munich [POSTER] Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/305541155944286996/?lp=true
Cantwell, J., Opara, E., 2013. Best Practices for Graphic Designers, Color Works: Right Ways of Applying. United States: Rockport Publishers.
Katzumie, M., Yamashita, Y., 1964., Aicher, O., Munich972. [POSTER] Available at: https://www.wemadethis.co.uk/blog/2009/10/1964-and-1972-olympics-pictograms/
Mclaren, I., Introduction., Rathgeb, M., 2006. Otl Aicher. London: Phaidon Press Limited.
Martin, D., Gynn, R., 2000. The Olympic Marathon. Illinois. Human Kinetics.
Rathgeb, M., 2006. Otl Aicher. London: Phaidon Press Limited.
Traganou, J., 2016. Designing the Olympics: Representation, Participation, Contestation. United States: Routledge.
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