Woman who invented nike swoosh

Nike Never Forgets its Friends! Davidson worked for Nike for years before leaving to pursue freelance work. Nike also awarded her with a swoosh-shaped gold and diamond ring and shares in the company. Let's Collaborate.

We'd love to hear about your digital project. Please get in touch with one of our Project Consultants. Copyright Awakward Media All rights reserved. Ms Davidson said she was sitting in a hall at the school, when Mr Knight happened to walk by. She said he overheard her mention that she couldn't afford to take oil painting. She said: 'He said if I'd like the job, he'd pay me so much an hour to letter some signs.

It started from there'. Chance meeting: Carolyn Davidson was a student at Portland State University when she ran into a young accounting professor, Phil Knight, who offered to pay her for design work for his side business. Ms Davison told OregonLive that she isn't sure exactly how long designing the swoosh took, but she estimates it was probably more than Ms Davidson reflected, 'Maybe the price wasn't good at the time, they paid what I charged though, you know. Geez it's been great'.

In fact, after graduating, Ms Davidson worked for Nike for several years, until she resigned to spend more time homemaking and to work freelance for a number of clients. In , Nike was a growing company, and the founders had wanted to do something to recognize Ms Davidson's earlier contribution. The company has 30, employees and makes billions. So they invited her to their office for lunch, then surprised her with a party.

They presented her with a gold ring in the shape of her swoosh, complete with a small diamond. They also gave her a certificate of appreciation and shares of stock.

Since then, there have been four 2-for-1 stock splits. Pitch men: Nike has long used high-profile athletes in its advertising, from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant. Ms Davidson insists she isn't a millionaire today, although she lives comfortably and spends much of her time volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House. Reflecting on the design process, Ms Davidson said in , 'I guess there weren't hundreds but it felt like it at the time'. She told OregonLive. In particular, she said Mr Knight was very impressed with the stripes of rival company Adidas, so it was hard to come up with something original.

She worked by sketching potential logos out by hand on tissue paper, and laying them over a drawing of a shoe. When she first showed her final designs to Mr Knight and two other Nike executives in , they weren't immediately blown away by the swoosh. Over the next few minutes, they decided that was the best one, and they decided to move ahead with it immediately, without even giving Ms Davidson time to 'clean up the design'.

Nike had been started as Blue Ribbon Sports in and had been distributing Japanese-made sneakers in the U. But it was poised to start designing and making its own shoes out of a plant in Mexico.

In , the company first began selling shoes with the Nike name, named after the Greek goddess of victory. A bit like the Supreme Box Logo, in this version Nike begins to become popular with professional athletes and celebrities. Michael Jordan 's endorsement also arrives, and the collaboration is still a symbol of sport and culture globally today. During this period Nike also launched the Just do it slogan. Finally, year-old Nike has adopted its current logo, the lone swoosh , so called due to the removal of the name from the logo.

The symbol that shaped the entire Nike world, in the name of movement, and not just on the playing fields. This site uses cookies, including third parties, in order to improve your experience and to provide services in line with your preferences. By closing this banner, scrolling this page or by clicking any of its elements you consent the use of cookies.

If you want to know more, read our cookie policy. Disable cookies. Carolyn Davidson, the woman who designed the Swoosh logo The power of Nike is a female victory. G-Club September 16th, Author Irene Coltrinari. Carolyn Davidson, the woman who designed the Swoosh logo.