The Woman Behind the Most Famous Logo in the World
You may not know her name - but you know her work
Last week there was a lot of news coverage about a new logo:
The internet (and a lot of New Yorkers) didn’t exactly love it.
But, it got me thinking of another logo that wasn’t exactly loved when it was first created.
And most people around the world would recognize the logo, but probably can’t name the designer who created it.
But when I first heard a snippet of this story, I had to go diving for more, because I was curious…
Meet Carolyn Davidson.
In 1969, Carolyn had a problem.
She was a graphics design student at Portland State University and wanted to take an oil painting class.
But she couldn’t afford it.
Fortunately for her, an assistant professor named Phil Knight heard that she wanted to make some extra money – and he was looking for a designer to help him with a side project.
Knight was working with a Japanese footwear company, and needed someone to produce nice-looking charts and graphs to show the Japanese executives.
He offered to pay Davidson $2 an hour to help.
The success of that first freelance gig led to others, mostly charts and graphs, until one day, Knight gave her a new assignment.
He was working on a new athletic shoe, and asked her to design a ‘stripe’ – the industry term for a logo that could go on the side of the shoe.
He told her it needed to ‘look like speed.’
Davidson knew Knight loved the Adidas logo – but she had to design something original.
It needed to be clean and classic, and stand apart from the competition.
A few weeks later, she unveiled her design to Knight and two of his colleagues.
“What else you got?” was Knight’s response.
She showed them a handful of other sketches, but they came back to the checkmark, her favorite.
“Well, I don’t love it,” Phil Knight said.
“But maybe it will grow on me.”
Carolyn asked for more time to refine her work, but Knight told her it wasn’t possible. She invoiced him for 17.5 hours of work for her design – a total of $35.
And you can guess what happened next…
The US Patent Office recorded Davidson’s curvy checkmark logo on June 18, 1971 for Knight’s new company, Nike.
That same year, Carolyn graduated with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. She continued to work with Nike until 1975.
Her design may not have been lauded by Knight at the start, but it did grow on him – and it became one of the most recognizable logos on the planet.
Although her initial payday was small, in 1983 she was given a generous amount of Nike stock, and a diamond and gold ring featuring her Swoosh design.
Despite creating the famous logo, Davidson told NPR in 2011:
“I've pretty much stayed under the radar, and nobody knows who I am.”
Moral of the Story:
Creative ideas are - by definition - new and different.
And they are often rejected.
So if your idea gets rejected, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not good or creative.
It just might grow on someone…
One more thing…
Phil Knight was in the news in February 2023 when LeBron James made NBA history by breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record.
Look at all the phones capturing the moment.
The man in the courtside seat soaking up the moment (without a phone in his hand) is Phil Knight.
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How Can I Help?
I’ll keep saying it: Communication matters.
If you want to improve your communication (and get all the good things that come with that), I’m your gal.
So many companies could reap significant benefits – from performance and culture to retention and engagement – by improving their communication.
So, if you know someone who could benefit from some help (as even the most seasoned leaders do), please get in touch and check out my website for more information.
You can also see my Top 10 list of what I can (and can’t) do for you here.
And if you see any communication examples (the good, the bad, and the ugly) that you think are worth analyzing or sharing, please send them my way!
Until next time, Stay Curious!
-Beth
Great piece to read. And it got me thinking about my "Why" in life. You see, not everyone is going to approve or the public is going to be of welcome to our work with both open arms, but if it's your nature; you tend to be good at it and find joy in it even if no one take not of it. Thanks Beth for an incredible read, I am curious 😉
Terrific story, once again, but a woman whose elegant checkmark is known around the world. Thanks for sharing it with us, Beth.