There is a popular story on the Internet that a sporting goods manufacturer paid a designer only $35 to create a logo recognizable throughout the world. We decided to check if this is true.
Articles about the history of the Nike logo, which mention that the designer was paid only $35 to develop it, can be found on thematic sports portals, resources about business And design, entertainment websites. Often this information include V collections facts about logos famous brands. About this also write users social networks And blogging platforms.
The history of the appearance of the swoosh, a check mark that has become recognizable throughout the world, was stated on Nike's official website before its redesign. In 1971 Phil Knight, one of the brand's founders, hired Portland State University graphic design student Caroline Davidson to draw a logo for the sneakers the company would sell. He promised to pay her $2 an hour. Davidson created several logo options, none of which Knight liked. And yet, since he didn’t have much time, he agreed to use that same swoosh as a basis. For 17 and a half hours spent at work, Davidson actually received only $35 (including inflation this amount is equivalent to approximately $260 in 2023).
In later interviews, the creator of the logo confirmed, that she received such a very modest fee. At the same time, Davidson emphasized that working with Nike essentially launched her career and provided her with recommendations - after graduating from university, the designer spent several years worked in the company. And on September 15, 1983, Bob Woodell, then the president of Nike, invited Davidson to dinner, which turned out to be a surprise party in her honor. There she was given a gold ring with a diamond in the shape of that very logo, as well as a small stake in Nike.
Some media outlets citing Phil Knight's speech to the company's board of directors clarifythat Davidson received 500 shares that day. The cost of one paper at that time amounted to about 25 cents - if the designer sold these shares immediately, she would only receive about $125 (if recalculate this amount taking into account inflation is about $381 today). In the video from that very party, one of the company employees tellsthat the price of the securities was slightly higher - about $150, but this is also a rather modest reward.
July 6, 2023 price of one Nike share amounts to about $104. Moreover, since 1983 the company six times carried out split — split the shares in half, proportionally reducing the value of each of them. Because of this, instead of 500 shares, Davidson should have had 32,000 shares by now; the total value of such a package today is more than $3.3 million. However, the designer said that after the splits she still sold some of the securities, so the current size of her fortune is unknown.
Thus, initially, designer Caroline Davidson actually received only $35 for her work on the Nike logo - based on $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, the designer was not forgotten, and 12 years later, when the company’s business was taking off, management thanked Davidson with a Swoosh-shaped diamond ring and Nike shares. At that time, their price was also small, but almost 40 years later, the total value of the securities amounts to millions of dollars. Article authors talking about the extremely low pay for creating a world-famous logo often forget to mention these details.
Cover photo: pexels.com
Read on the topic:
- Myths about the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio's lion screensaver
- World's Most Famous Logos And The Stories Behind Them
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
