Two aspects were particularly important for the design of the posters. Firstly, they should be comprehensible by the many cultural groups in attendance, secondly, their content should be easily understood. Photography as a means of pictorial representation seemed to be the most appropriate solution.

For the posters the design team used a colour filtration technique. Imagery was manipulated by reducing and separating the tonal values. These were then re-assembled using the identity colour palette. This was a manual process (no Photoshop) requiring extensive retouching of the colour separation films.

Each poster uses a horizontally ‘left-to-right’ dynamic to enhance a sense of motion. In many cases the main pictorial element bleeds off the sheet, suggesting action and increasing the signal value. The posters become symbols which can be understood immediately.

Approximately 800,000 sports event posters were produced. At the time of sale the large (Din A0) posters sold for DM 6–, the smaller posters (Din A1) sold for DM 5–.

Original photograph for the gymnastics poster (above). The image has been inverted, the curtains replaced with horizontal bars and the Japanese flag retouched to remove identification of a particular nationality.

Colour test proof for the Rowing poster. This blue, silver and yellow pallet was rejected in favour of the more vibrant blue and yellow.

The Marathon Poster was the last to be produced. The design team was becoming a little self- indulgent, and worked into the foliage their own photographs in profile, including Gerhard Joksch, Gabreile Pee, Georgy Nagy, Nanka Claasen and Henri Wirtner.

Several identity broadsheets were produced in order to disseminate information about the games and facilitate the correct design implementation.

An early A1 version utilised a limited palette of colours with some of the initial design work. Note the early ticket designs.

The identity drew upon the traditional heraldic palette of Bavaria, light blue (also the universal colour for peace) and white. A range of supporting colours were developed using bespoke colour formulae. The red and black colours of the German National flag were rejected to avoid wartime connotations.

Later an A0 poster used the full palette of Olympic colours. Apart from their aesthetic function the colours also had an objective to create transparency and clarity. This was achieved by allocating specific colours to categorized groups of equipment, individuals, objects and services. Light blue: for sport and as official colour for the Olympic Committee (OC); green: for communication media; orange: for technical departments; silver: for representative purposes and honours.

The broadsheets were a persuasive way of coordinating the work of the numerous contributors and suppliers.

The stadium poster was the first to be produced to promote the games. At the time of production, the site was not built, so the designers had to rely on photography of architectural models of the stadium.

The effect of the organic stadium roof was
simulated by using women’s stocking material.

Typography was kept to a minimum in order to avoid any potential language problems.

The ‘Olympischer Fackellauf’ depicts a simplified form of the Olympic flame in the rainbow colours, and was produced in seven language variations. It was produced to mark the route of the Olympic flame from Olympia in Greece (birthplace of the modern Olympics), through mainland Europe to Munich. A certificate was also produced for each athlete who took part in the 6,200 kilometre journey.

Echoing the classical Greek tradition of the Olympics being a celebration of the complete man, the sports events were paralleled by an equivalent series of cultural events.

A secondary identity was proposed to differentiate these from the sports events. A series of horizontal panels in the olympic colours combined with pictorial and typographic elements identified the events as part of the cultural programme. The series was further unified by using a consistent hang line that became known as the ‘waschelinie’ (washing line).

The ‘Folklore’ Cultural Events Poster was one of the only instances where the colour black was used as an illustrative element. The black eyes on the mask were a point of contention for some members of the team, however Aicher intervened and approved it as a one off exception.

These were produced to support an exhibition exploring the meeting of the art and music from around the world. Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music, Performance Art and Art and Craft were all included in the exhibition.

The use of the vertical colour panels, in the colours of the games, integrated with images from the exhibition referenced the identity of the games, including the ‘Wreath of Rays’ and Olympic Rings.