The Future Sign Language: A Critical History of Aicher's Ideas About Signs and Pictograms for the 1972 Munich Olympics.

This article examines the development and significance of the signs and pictograms designed by Otl Aicher and his team for the 1972 Munich Olympics, highlighting their role as a milestone in modern graphic design. It explores Aicher's efforts to create a functional visual "grammar" that balanced abstract geometric elements with figurative representation, reflecting a shift from purely abstract sign systems toward pictogram-based communication in the 1960s. The study details Aicher's influences from the Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm, his collaboration with designers like Gerhard Joksch and Alfred Kern, and his engagement with contemporaneous debates on abstraction versus figuration in signage. It also discusses the challenges Aicher faced in systematizing pictograms for complex environments such as airports and international events, as well as his evolving theoretical reflections on signs, pictograms, and their relation to writing systems.