On Neutral Ground. 1962.

Last Updated on June 29, 2020 by Netropolitan Museum

On beautiful Lake Geneva, the city of Geneva, Switzerland, has been host city for multiple top-level figure skating events, from the World Championships in 1968 and 1986 to the European Championships in 1962 and 1976. Featured here is the diminutive pin from the 1962 European Figure Skating Championships, measuring just 9/16″ x 11/16″ in size (1.4 cm x 1.7 cm).

The pin … reflects the highly developed and influential Swiss style of graphic design that favored simplicity.

The central figure, a stylizer skater executing a stag jump, appears in black against a vibrant red field. The criss-cross pattern on the figure suggests the tracings left by a blade on the ice. The event location, “Genève,” appears above the figure. The lower fourth of the pin, highly contrasting in white, carries the event name and year: “‘Championnats d’Europe 1962.”

The pin design skillfully communicates all the necessary information and reflects the highly developed and influential Swiss style of graphic design that favors simplicity.

1962 European Championships

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