Winter Olympic Games Logos
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially the X Olympic Winter Games, were held in Grenoble, France, from February 6 to 18, 1968. The Games were notable for being the first Winter Olympics to feature separate East and West German teams and the first to implement drug and gender testing. Thirty-seven nations participated, with 1,158 athletes competing in 35 events across 10 disciplines. France’s Jean-Claude Killy won all three alpine skiing events, becoming the hero of the home Games.
The Grenoble 1968 emblem, designed by Roger Excoffon, depicts three stylized roses arranged in a triangular pattern, their forms simplified to bold, curved shapes. The three roses reference Grenoble’s historical coat of arms, which features three roses as the city’s heraldic symbol. Excoffon rendered them in a contemporary graphic style that transformed the medieval heraldic motif into a modern mark, using red tones against a clean background. Below the roses, “GRENOBLE 1968” is set in a typeface with the Olympic rings beneath. The emblem bridged the gap between Grenoble’s historical identity and the contemporary graphic design of the late 1960s, a period of extraordinary visual experimentation in France.
Meaning and Symbolism
- Three roses: The roses are drawn directly from Grenoble’s coat of arms, where they have appeared since the medieval period. Using the city’s heraldic symbol connected the Games to Grenoble’s civic identity and historical continuity.
- Triangular arrangement: The three roses arranged in a triangle create a balanced, stable composition. The triangular form also subtly suggests a mountain peak, connecting the heraldic motif to the Alpine landscape.
- Simplified graphic style: Excoffon’s treatment of the roses was contemporary and bold, reducing the heraldic detail to clean, curved shapes that worked as a modern graphic mark. This transformation from heraldic tradition to modern graphic design reflected the broader cultural energy of France in the late 1960s.
- Red tones: The warm red of the roses references both the traditional heraldic colors and the passion and energy associated with French culture.
Design and History
The Grenoble 1968 emblem was designed by Roger Excoffon, one of France’s most distinguished typographers and graphic designers. Excoffon is best known for creating the typefaces Mistral, Banco, and Antique Olive, and his work for Air France. His approach to the Olympic emblem brought the same typographic sensitivity and graphic boldness that characterized his broader career.
The decision to base the emblem on Grenoble’s coat of arms roses was a culturally grounded choice that anchored the Games in the city’s identity. Rather than creating an abstract or figurative mark, Excoffon transformed existing heraldic imagery into a contemporary graphic form. The three roses, simplified and enlarged, became a bold, recognizable symbol that communicated both “Grenoble” and “winter celebration.”
The 1968 Games were held during a period of extraordinary cultural ferment in France. Just months after the Olympics, the May 1968 protests and general strike would transform French society. The visual culture of the period was characterized by bold graphics, experimental typography, and a willingness to break with tradition while still honoring it. Excoffon’s emblem captured this tension: it was rooted in medieval heraldry but expressed in the graphic language of the contemporary moment.
The Games themselves were dominated by Jean-Claude Killy, the French alpine skier who won all three events (downhill, slalom, and giant slalom) in front of his home crowd. Killy’s triple gold made him a national hero and gave the Games a narrative of French triumph that the visual identity celebrated.
The broader brand system for Grenoble 1968 extended the graphic energy of the emblem across venues, posters, and merchandise. The poster series for the Games, designed by multiple French graphic artists, reflected the experimental visual culture of the late 1960s and became sought-after collector’s items.
Typography
“GRENOBLE 1968” is set beneath the rose emblem in a typeface that reflects Excoffon’s typographic expertise. The letterforms are clean and modern, with the visual confidence that characterized French graphic design of the period. For the broader brand system, typography maintained this quality across wayfinding, publications, and official materials, benefiting from the designer’s deep understanding of how letterforms work at different scales and in different contexts.
FAQ
Q: What do the three roses in the Grenoble 1968 emblem represent?
A: The three roses are drawn from Grenoble’s coat of arms, where they have appeared as the city’s heraldic symbol since the medieval period. Roger Excoffon transformed them into a contemporary graphic mark.
Q: Who designed the Grenoble 1968 emblem?
A: Roger Excoffon, one of France’s most distinguished typographers and graphic designers, known for creating typefaces including Mistral and Antique Olive and for his work with Air France.
Q: What made the 1968 Grenoble Olympics memorable?
A: French alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy won all three skiing events (downhill, slalom, and giant slalom) in front of his home crowd, becoming a national hero.
The Grenoble 1968 emblem and Olympic rings are trademarks of the International Olympic Committee. This page is for educational and reference purposes only.
More logos with similar colors
