![]() It’s no surprise that Wyman wants his work to last when he spends so much time developing his ideas – his Olympic logo was formulated after a “lot of research into the early cultures of Mexico”, with trips to the country’s Museum of Anthropology. “I thought it would be great to do something that didn’t disappear – that’s when the Mexico City metro gave me that opportunity, and I’ve been doing projects like that ever since.” “All the effort that goes into developing the identity elements and wayfinding strategy, it all disappears,” he says. He says he’s drawn inspiration from figures such as the late John Follis, a founding father of wayfinding design and signage, the late Paul Rand, who “brought graphic design to the corporate world” through brands such as IBM and ABC, and Margaret Calvert – creator of “some of the best out-on-the-street designs that have ever been done”.Īnd while the Mexico ’68 Olympics logo was one of the most notable of Wyman’s career, he appreciates the permanence that comes from creating whole city systems, compared to how fleeting events graphics can be. “The difference is that as long as the icon is identifiable, you’ll have a system that doesn’t rely on language – that’s a big plus.” “Imagery can be dumb, just as words can,” says Wyman. It wasn’t an easy sell back then, but I knew it was important because of the Olympic experience.”īut unclear images can be just as confusing as words in a foreign language – which is why icons need to be “legible and identifiable” to communicate effectively, says Wyman. “But the point was, if you were coming from China, you wouldn’t understand Spanish – you could tell your friend to meet you at the ‘duck station’ instead. ![]() “People would say things like, ‘Why do you want to use icons? Do you want people to think we’re a bunch of illiterates?’,” says Wyman. This idea was maverick for the 1960s, and not instantly well-received in Mexico. ![]() Mexico City Metro, Mexico City, Mexico, 1968 ![]()
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