Posted on 4th January, 2021

Some Untold facts about Nike’s Swoosh Logo.

All you need is an enticing logo to establish brand trustworthiness and Nike’s Swoosh logo design justifies this perfectly. Here are some facts you might not be knowing about this popular shoe-making company.

Established in the year 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, Nike an American show making company was then named as Blue Ribbon Sports. Later in the year 1978, it changed its name to Nike, after the name of a Greek Goddess of Victory.

The popular logo of this brand which was originally termed as” the strip”, was designed by Carolyn Davidson in the year 1971. Later the name was mutated to “Swoosh”, referring to the fibres that were initially used for making the shoes. And for the first time, in the year 1972, the Swoosh logo was printed on the shoes.

What Swoosh connotes?
Swoosh connotes the sound that we hear when something around us passes speedily. The design of Nike has been crafted in a way which represents -the movement curve of the brand.

Sharing some hidden facts about Nike’s logo design

The logo designer was paid only $35- Yeah, You read it correctly! Carolyn Davidson the graphic designer of Nike was offered only $35 for creating the Swoosh logo. However, the popularity of this design helped her to grab freelance work, eventually making her a millionaire.

The brand was named after Greek Goddess of Victory- The name was inspired from the name of Greek Goddess of Victory- Nike, whose wings are called “Swoosh”, to motivate the warriors of the battlefield.

Initially it was designed using red and white colour- The first logo was designed using red and white colour. Since, red colour signifies energy, desire and white colour resemble purity, safety and cleanliness. It was much later, black and white colour was chosen, for a more sleek and trendy look.

It took more than 17 hours to craft the design- Creating the perfect design was quite time-consuming. Although the design looks very simple but to create this simple and perfect design involved profound thought. The real challenge was to design an impressive logo that will look good on a shoe.

The design was refused recurrently- Somehow the company owners didn’t find the design to be impressive, and Davidson was asked to create something else. She made several attempts to improve the design but none were acknowledged. Finally, she gave up pleasing the owners.

The first logo was printed on Football boot- Although Nike started its business by manufacturing sneakers, but none of the sneakers bore the logo on it. Later in 1971, for the first time, the Swoosh logo was printed on a football boot.

The tagline ”Just do it” is stimulated by the last words of a serial killer- Just like its logo, it’s tagline which says” Just Do It” is also very catchy. In fact, it is among the top 5 slogans of this 21st century. However, the slogan was inspired by the last words of Utah Killer Gary, a serial killer, who was sentenced to death in the year 1977, apparently said: “Let’s do it”.

Adidas was its primary competitor- Adidas was another popular shoemaking brand with whom Nike wanted to compete. Davidson liked three separate lines that angled at a certain point, like a mountain, denoting the various challenges faced by athletes. So rather than drawing three separate lines, she designed this Swoosh Look.

To Conclude
The exemplary logo of Nike is a striking example of how an ordinary brand can turn out to be an extraordinary one. Don’t forget to get the best logo for your business, even if it is a small scale business. You never know when suddenly it will emerge as the most successful one, earning global fame.

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