Knight liked the simple stripe design his competitor Adidas used, and he wanted something similarly striking.īesides her salary, he paid her a $35 freelance fee to design the logo.

He also asked her to design a new logo for the shoes. Knight asked Davidson to prepare charts and other business graphics. After overhearing Davidson say she couldn’t afford her art supplies, Knight offered her a part-time job as a graphic designer. Phil Knight was an assistant professor there who had a struggling shoe company. In 1971, Carolyn Davidson was a graduate student at Portland State University.

That’s where the designer of the Nike logo got her inspiration. Her most outstanding feature, however, is her huge, curved wings. In some paintings, she carries the torch of Hermes in her role as the messenger of victory. In classical paintings and sculpture, Nike appears as a strong, slender young woman who typically carries a palm frond or a blade. The image of strength and victory was appropriate for a shoe that promised to propel its wearers to victory in sports. Greek soldiers invoked her name when they went into battle. In Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of power, speed and victory. Knight and Bowerman agreed it was the perfect fit. In 1971, a new employee suggested the name Nike. Initially, Knight suggested they call it Dimension 6, based on the multiple dimensions they used to create their high-performing shoes. The hunt for the right name proved elusive, however.

The name was fine, but it didn’t really fit a company that was quickly establishing itself as a trendsetter for athletic shoes. When Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman founded their sneaker company in 1964, they named it Blue Ribbon Sports. This simple, powerful design has graced the company’s shoes and advertisements for more than 30 years. The Nike logo, known as “the Swoosh,” is one of the most recognized graphics in the world.

Nike logo design