In 1971, Nike co-founder and then accounting professor Phil Knight commissioned a Portland State college graphic design student named Carolyn Davidson to design a logo that conveys motion and would look good on a shoe. Davidson spent more than 17 hours on the project, coming up with dozens of options, including what would become one of the world’s most recognizable logos, the Nike Swoosh. Knight said of the logo, “I don’t love it, but it will grow on me.” Davidson was paid $35 dollars for her work, and later received stock options, which presumably wound up being worth much, much more. The company eventually changed its name from Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory. In September 1983, nearly three years after the company went public, Knight invited Davidson to a company lunch. There, he presented her with a diamond ring engraved with the Swoosh, and an envelope filled with an undisclosed amount of Nike stock (rumor has it that it was 500 shares and is worth about $800,000 now which she still has). Of the gift, Davidson says, this was something rather special for Phil to do, because I originally billed him and he paid that invoice.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 03:07:59 +0000
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