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Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By (Nike)

By August 9, 2011Art + Design

Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By

Designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971. For $35. At the time, Phil Knight stated of the logo, “I don’t love it, but it will grow on me.”

Swoosh: 40 Years Fly. By Steven Heller.

From Imprint: The origin of the mark goes like this: Knight wanted to differentiate BRS’s custom product from the ones they were importing from Onituska in Japan: “…so Knight turned to a graphic design student he met at Portland State University two years earlier.” One day in 1969, the student, Carolyn Davidson, was approached by Knight and offered $2 per hour “to make charts and graphics” for his business. For the next two years Davidson managed the design work on BRS. “Then one day Phil asked me if I wanted to work on a shoe stripe,” Davidson recalled. The only advice she received was to “Make the stripe supportive of the shoe.” Davidson came up with half a dozen options. None of the options “captivated anyone” so it came down to “which was the least awful.”

Well, the rest is history. And the Swoosh emerged from “the stripe” and is one of the most recognized logos in the world.

Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By

Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By

Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By

+ Sources:
Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By :: by Steven Heller :: Imprint
Nike Swoosh Designer Discusses Her Iconic Creation :: All Things Considered :: NPR