History of the Swoosh

Nike Freeze, inspired by the swoosh

After posting the sweatshop swoosh yesterday, I started thinking about the iconic Nike logo. Although I've owned and loved Nikes since day one, and everyone knows that fresh Nikes on the feet make the cypher complete, I realized I didn't know much about one of the most globally recognizable logos. After doing a little digging, I found these facts:

• The swoosh was created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson.
• She was initially paid $35 for the logo, at a rate of $2 an hour.
• Phil Knight, when shown the logo, said "I don't love it, but I think it will grow on me."
• Phil Knight later gave Davidson a diamond swoosh ring, along with 500 shares of Nike stock.
• The stand-alone swoosh premiered in 1995.

While a gold and diamond swoosh ring is pretty amazing, the real satisfaction Carolyn Davidson has received has been seeing the growth of her logo, and the brand it would come to embody. Also, the 500 shares of stock she later received are currently worth (due to four 2-for-1 splits and a stock price of $97.90) around $780,000, not bad for a days work!

Next time you slip on those fresh Dunks, give props to Carolyn Davidson, the designer behind the most iconic sportswear logo in history.