Paralympic Games Logo PNG
Paralympics is the name of a sporting event, where international sportsmen with disabilities compete for the most prestigious medals in the world. The first Paralympic Games took place in 1948 and now the event is being held in the same year and place as the Olympic Games, becoming more and more popular.
Meaning and history
The first official logo for Paralympics was created in 1988, for the event in Seoul. It was pretty much based on the Olympic Games iconic badge, though got its unique personality throughout the years and today be can see as a brilliantly stylish, and individual emblem, which reflects the values of the Paralympic Games and its diversity.
1958 – 1972
The Paralympic logo from 1958, which stayed with the world-renowned event for three seasons, was truly amazing. The composition, set in a black-and-white color palette, depicted three overlapping wheels, which looked like bicycle ones, or a wheelchair. They were placed on the same geometry as on the primary Olympic Games badge, but had a lettering arched close to one of each — “Friendship, Unity, Sportsmanship”. The inscription was set in the uppercase of a simple sans-serif typeface but looked very stylish in its simplicity.
1988 — 1994
The emblem, designed for Paralympics in 1988, boasted a bright multicolor structure, composed of five “petals”, which looked more like horizontally placed drops with the thin side curved up. Each of the petals had its color, just like on the official logo of the Olympics — blue, black, red, yellow, and green — and the logo was set in two levels, with three elements on top, and two — under them.
1994 – 2003
With the redesign of 1994, the number of petals on the Paralympic Gales logo was refused to three, and now the composition looked the following way: a green petal placed above red and blue ones, on a white background. The choice of red, green, and blue colors was explained by the fact, that they are the most commonly used shades in the national flags. This laconic yet friendly and smooth emblem stayed with Paralympics for ten years.
2003 – 2021
In 2003 the logo for the world sport event was redrawn again, keeping the color palette of the previous version, but darkening the shades of green, red and blue, making them look more stable and confident. The new image was also composed of three elements, though this time they were not petals, arched lines, looking like orbits or swooshes. The three lines were drawn as if they were encircling an invisible sphere in the middle. The new logo became a symbol of motion and dynamics, perfectly representing the purpose and spirit of the games.
The emblem could be used both in color and monochrome versions, and for the International Paralympic Committee, it was accompanied by a three-leveled wordmark, placed under it or an “IPC” abbreviation in black capitals, put in the upper right part of the badge.
2021 — Today
In 2021 there were some minor changes done to the iconic Paralympics logo. The colors of the elements were brightened up, and the swooshes were placed with more space between them, creating a sense of lightness and freedom. The refreshed color palette made the badge more welcoming and kind, keeping the brightness and memorability of the previous version.
Font and color
The emblem of Paralympics is usually used without any lettering, or with a simple black sans-serif inscription, pointing to a place and date of the next event. The fonts, which are mainly used with the badge, are very traditional and neat ones, just like the typeface of the International Paralympic Committee — similar to FF Megano Pro Black.
The red, blue, and green color palette has been in use by The Games since 1994, standing for the most popular colors in the national flags of Paralympic participants. Though this combination also has a lot of side meanings: red is the color of passion and strength, blue represents protection and reliability, and green symbolized success, growth, and progress.
