Nikolay Belkov
# Nikolay Belkov

Nikolay Sergeevich Belkov (5 September 1950, Leningrad, the USSR – 21 May 1996) - designer, member of the Union of Artists of Russia, author the pictograms system which was patented and officially used on Olympic Games in 1980, Moscow. Used to be the permanent participant of Leningrad, all-Russian, all-Union, international exhibitions and International Poster Biennale. He was awarded the medal "For Distinguished Labour".

## Biography

Nikolay Belkov was born in 1950 in Leningrad. He was fascinated by pentathlon. Modern pentathlon is a multidimensional and exciting sports all-around, forming strength and endurance, as well as a strong friendship and cohesion of all team members, especially since the Olympic Сhampion in modern pentathlon A.A. Tarasov was the coach. Nikolay became a master of sports and had every chance to enter the national team of the USSR.

## Creation of System of Pictograms for the Olympic Games in 1980

In 1977, Nikolay Belkov graduated from the evening department of the faculty of industrial art of Leningrad Higher Art and Industrial School named after V. I. Mukhin. His graduated work was dedicated to a system of pictograms developed by him for all Olympic Sports for the 1980s Olympic Games.

After finishing his studies at the school, Nikolay Belkov chose to design a set of equipment for pentathletes as his graduation project. Together with this, he worked on the creation of emblems of the five sports included in the pentathlon. Having developed dozens of options, he at some point caught the General principle of graphic construction. In this regard, the idea was born to try to portray all sports as icons. Schematic images of different sports were once used at the Olympics in London, Tokyo, Munich, Montreal. Nikolay studied the experience of foreign designers in detail and contrasted their dancing men with a new system of symbols. The basis for the work was the famous system of icons designed by Otto Aicher that was created for the Olympics in Munich.

The system of pictograms was patented and successfully implemented at the Olympic games in Moscow in 1980. And the graduated work on its development became one of the best final works of the Stieglitz Academy.

## School of Leningrad Poster Art

As a member of the Union of Artists, Nikolay Belkov, along with other artists, was at the origins of the art movement that formed the Leningrad School of Poster Art.

