Is it true that the author of the Nike logo received only $ 35 for its work?

The story is popular on the Internet that the manufacturer of sports goods paid the designer for creating a recognizable logo of only $ 35 in the whole world. We decided to check if this is so.

Articles about the history of the Nike logo, which mentioned that the designer paid only $ 35 for his development, can be found on thematic sports portals, resources about business And design, entertaining sites. Often this information Included V Collections facts about logos famous brands. About it too write Users social networks And Platform blog

The history of the appearance of Ovush - the checkmarks, which became recognizable around the world - was stated On the official website of Nike before its redesign. In 1971 Phil Knight, one of the creators of the brand, hired a student of the faculty of graphic design of Portland University Caroline Davidson to draw a logo for the sneakers that the company was going to sell. He promised to pay her $ 2 per hour. Davidson created several options for logos, none of which, however, did not like it. And yet, since he did not have much time, he agreed to take the same sovish as a basis. For 17 and a half hours spent by work, Davidson really received only $ 35 (taking into account inflation This amount is equivalent to about $ 260 in 2023). 

In later interviews the creator of the logo confirmedthat I received such a very modest fee. At the same time, Davidson emphasized that work with Nike, in fact, launched her career and provided recommendations - after graduation, the designer for several years worked In the company. And on September 15, 1983, Bob Woodle, at that time, Nike, called Davidson for lunch, which turned out to be a surge party in her honor. There she was presented with a gold ring with a diamond in the form of the same logo, as well as a small package of Nike shares. 

Original design of the surge and its evolution. Source

Some media outlets with reference to the performance of Phil Knight before the Board of Directors of the Company Checkthat Davidson received 500 shares that day. The cost of one paper at that time composed about 25 cents - if the designer immediately sold these shares, she would receive only about $ 125 (if Count This amount, taking into account inflation, is about $ 381 modern). In the video from the same party, one of the company employees tellsthat the cost of securities was slightly higher - about $ 150, but this is also a rather modest reward. 

July 6, 2023 The cost of one campaign Nike It is About $ 104. Moreover, since 1983, the company Six times Spended Split - crushed shares in half, proportionally reducing the cost of each of them. Because of this, instead of 500 shares of Davidson, to date, 32,000 should have turned out to be 32,000, the total cost of such a package today is more than $ 3.3 million. However, the designer said that after the plexus, she still sold part of the securities, so what is now the size of her condition is unknown.

Thus, initially, for her work on the Nike logo, designer Caroline Davidson really received only $ 35 - at the rate of $ 2 per hour for 17 and a half hours of work. However, Nike itself at that time was a young developing company, and not a multi -billion dollar corporation. Nevertheless, they did not forget about the designer, and after 12 years, when the company went uphill, the leadership thanked Davidson with a ringed with a diamond in the form of a surge and Nike shares. At that time, their price was also small, but after almost 40 years the total cost of securities is calculated by millions of dollars. The authors of articles telling about the extremely low payment for the creation of a world -famous logo often forget to mention these details. 

Photo on the cover: pexels.com

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