Many factors define the status of a company or a brand, like the quality of products or customer service. However, another factor that distinguishes a brand from others is its overall theme, or more accurately, its logo.
A logo of a brand is its identity. It is a symbol marked on a brand’s products to verify their goods. Many brands are known around the world for their logos.
One fine example is Nike, a worldwide famous shoe manufacturing brand with total assets of $34.8 billion. And in today’s article, we will tell you about the history of the famous logo of Nike.
History of the Nike Logo
The widely famous Nike logo, also known as Nike Swoosh, was designed by a graphic design student at Portland State University, Carolyn Davidson, in the 1960s.
She was hired by co-founders Knight and Bill of the brand Blue Ribbon Sports. They said that they love her graphic designing skills and they would often hire her to make flyers and charts for the company.
In 1971, they chose Carolyn to design a logo for a new shoe manufacturing brand they were introducing. Their requirements included a distinctive design that represented speed. Thus, Carolyn presented five plans, including the Nike swoosh.
According to Carolyn Davidson, none of the designs were appealing to the co-founders. However, they thought that the swoosh design would grow on them. It took Carolyn almost 18 hours to design this logo. And hence, this $34.8 billion logo was bought for only $35. The swoosh became the official logo of the iconic Nike brand.
This logo changed everything. It is simple yet exquisite, along with a positive and inspiring message of “Just do it,” appealed to thousands of people, celebrities, and athletes. Eventually, Nike became one of the most successful brands globally, with its logo worth 34.8 billion US dollars.
The meaning behind Nike’s logo
The Nike swoosh, at first glance, looks just like a checkmark with the theme of simply ‘doing it’. However, it is interesting to note that the meaning behind this logo is derived from Greek history.
According to Carolyn, the Nike swoosh was inspired by a Greek Goddess of victory wing, known as Nike. She used to deliver strength to warriors on the battlefield.
This logo proved to be the best way to spread the message of positivity and strength. Even at first glance, it gives a powerful positive vibe.
Elements of the Nike Logo:
Shape: Although Carolyn designed the shape of this logo similar to the wing of the Greek Goddess Nike but in the mainstream market, it is mostly just understood as a checkmark. Both identities symbolize the same message of strength and positivity.
Color: The Nike swoosh has been introduced in various colors like black, white, red, and orange. Red and black are the longest used colors of the Nike swoosh.
Font: There are just two fonts that we have been associated with the Nike logo so far. One is the brand name itself, Nike. Nike is usually written in capital letters to emphasize the brand name while keeping the ‘K’ slightly tilted to make the character more visible and stand out.
Sometimes, we may also see Nike’s motto, “Just do it,” inspired by the last words of serial killer Gary Gillmore. The font used for this motto is Futura Bold (Condensed).
Some additional names added to the logo may include Nike SB (skateboarding) and Nike Air where it was written under the swoosh sign.
