2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Pictograms

8th August, 2011

The pictograms for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 were unveiled last week by studio Tangent Graphic. Using the concentric rings of the 2014 logo, the symbols reference the "decisive moment" of each of the Games' 17 sporting events...

The logo for Glasgow 2014 – the 20th Commonwealth Games – was launched in March last year by Marque (above left). It features a letter 'G' for Glasgow surrounded by three concentric circles (or parts of circles), with the solid red outline representing the number 20.

The length of the other concentric lines then relate to the number of sports on the programme (the yellow ring is 17/20th of a full circle); and the 11 days of the competition (the blue line represents 11/20ths of a circle). David Airey over at Logo Design Love has a good write up on Marque's work.

Tangent based its 17 pictogram designs on elements of the logo and what they call the "key decisive moments" in each sporting event.

"This is the moment that time, data or measurement is captured, the moment that defines winners," they explain. "Years of training and preparation culminating in a split second, it is the most dramatic and climactic moment of the event. This is the moment we're capturing for the pictograms."

The pictograms are based on the concentric rings that appear in the logo and use identical line thickness and spacing. According to the studio, this "dynamic foundation gives the pictogram both energy and motion." Here are some of our favourites: