The Swoosh Origins: A $35 Legacy

Of course, today, the entire world is used to these cool orange boxes and bags, and to this "Swoosh," which is one of the most recognizable logos in the world and a statement of quality. Additionally, Nike takes its roots from Greek mythology. It symbolises the winged goddess of victory that was always by the side of the powerful Zeus in Olympus. To say more, Nike added an apt phrase to the symbol, which, so it seems, has achieved immortal status.

 You might imagine that an image so iconic would have been designed by an important advertising or branding firm that was paid millions to come up with the advertising scheme. If you did think that, oh how wrong you were. In fact, the entire logo development cost only 35 damn dollars!!

The Designer

As the story goes, way back in 1971, Carolyn Davidson was a graphic design student at Portland State University. There, she met Phil Knight, then-assistant professor at PSU who would go on to found Blue Ribbon Sports, and, in turn, Nike. Knight knew Davidson was in search of extra funds to take oil painting classes, so he asked Davidson to help him out by making graphs and reports for his business at a measly rate of $2 an hour. Once Knight came up with the idea to strike out on his own and create his own brand of athletic shoes, Davidson was his natural first choice. He asked her to help him come up with a stripe, or an image that could go on the side of the shoe. That too, as a side job. It was through them that the world was first introduced to the phenomenon that is the Nike Swoosh.

Nike’s Response

The funny thing is that Knight was a fan of those impeccable 3 stripes of Adidas and did not readily accept the Nike Swoosh deep in his soul. Despite that, he launched his Nike campaign with a Swoosh logo (oh thank heavens!) in the core and paid $35 to Davidson as agreed. Why exactly 35 bucks, you ask? Just because Davidson spent 17.5 hours designing the logo, she got this amount, referring to her hourly rate. For either of the concerned parties, the swoosh meant nothing more than a formality to distinguish their new sports company, which is why neither of them took this job too seriously and kept it simple. This just goes to show the impeccable beauty of simplicity.

However, a setback came as early as 1986, when Nike made attempts to abandon the swoosh on certain shoe styles, most notably the Air Jordan II. This marketing decision raised a lot of eyebrows, but it was a move in the right direction, allowing the Air Jordan brand to develop its own identity and demonstrating the power of star athletes’ endorsements—in this case, basketball legend Michael Jordan.

Despite that, for mainstream Nike products, the swoosh logo has become indelibly associated in the public mind with the athletic-goods industry, making sports virtually synonymous with the Nike name, and we’re all grateful for it.

Was Davidson robbed?

Just 35$ for giving a multi-billion dollar brand an identity of superiority? How unfair is that?! It turns out, not that much. Thanks to the Nike Swoosh, Davidson got a job for four years to develop the logo to its perfection. Moreover, she made tons of valuable connections in the world of design that made her succeed as a freelance designer and brought her $1,000,000 (not bad, right?). Moreover, Knight organised a party in his honour to showcase his gratitude to the person who took the first step to his brand’s success. In fact, Davidson got a gold & diamond ring with a cherished Nike Swoosh on it. So, rest assured, she was not deprived in any regard.

What the Swoosh represents

Today Nike with its "Swoosh" represents this goddess of victory by providing world's most talented and outstanding athletes with great sports shoes for new goals and by inspiring all fans of sport on feats.  But the individual who made Nike come up with this idea created a legacy that designers and artists of all niches can look up to and feel inspired. The logo has evolved since the 1970s, when the shape had "Nike" written over it in a script typeface. Subsequent iterations include "Nike" in oblique sans serif lettering stacked above (1978), the lockup contained within a red box (1985), and the symbol on its own without any text. Today, it has cemented its place in pop culture as a symbol of sports excellence coupled with the slogan, "Just Do It", and the world owes a large part of that to the unsung hero, Carolyn Davidson.  Her work is a good example of how every connection in the design world can be important, and how little jobs and efforts can ultimately pay off in very big ways.