In 1971, graphic design student Carolyn Davidson created the “Swoosh” for Phil Knight and his new brand of soccer cleats, Nike.
40 years later, and the Nike Swoosh is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.
Recently, NPR hosts Michelle Norris and Robert Siegel sat down with Davidson to discuss her remarkable, yet humble story….
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ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
This week marks the anniversary of a mark, a mark you may be wearing on your shoes right now. Forty years ago, Carolyn Davidson showed her boss a little drawing of a curved check on a piece of paper.
Ms. CAROLYN DAVIDSON (Designer): I remember when he picked The Swoosh, he said, I don’t love it but it’ll grow on me.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
The Swoosh, the man smothering Carolyn Davidson with that faint praise for it four decades ago was Nike co-founder Phil Knight. And the drawing the shoe mogul hastily selected was the iconic image that graces all his company’s footwear, boxes and ads today.
SIEGEL: At the time, Carolyn Davidson had no idea how much to charge for The Swoosh. Her assignment had been to come up with a logo for the running shoes. She was a novice and asked for a $35 fee for the drawing. Since then, Nike has made billions. Eventually the company gave her some stock. She’s not quite a millionaire, she says, but she’s famous – sort of.
Ms. DAVIDSON: I’ve pretty much stayed under the radar and nobody knows who I am.
NORRIS: Davidson was a college student when Phil Knight hired her for his company. She says that one day, Knight stumbled upon her sitting in a hallway of Portland State University in Oregon. She was telling a friend she didn’t have enough money to take an oil painting class. Knight hired her as a graphic designer and a few years later that’s how she came to create one of the world’s most memorable corporate logos.
Ms. DAVIDSON: When I see it on TV and I turn on a game and both teams are in Nike, I mean, I just get a good feeling. Or if I turn a corner and run into a billboard or if I watch the Olympics – I mean, it’s just good feeling inside.
SIEGEL: That’s Carolyn Davidson, creator of the Nike Swoosh, born on a bit of tissue paper in 1971.
Of all the world’s runners who wear Nike brands, there is one person who is not in their number.
Ms. DAVIDSON: I like to walk. I like to garden. But I never was into running.
It’s interesting that Phil Knight wasn’t feeling the logo initially. That just goes to show that everything isn’t gonna smack you upside the head right away and sometime you have to trust the creative genius of others.
Kudos to Carolyn Davidson! She defined an entire movement.
You can listen to audio of the interview HERE.
Transcript Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio®
