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{{Short description|Nike logo}}
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
[[File:Logo NIKE.svg|thumb|The "Swoosh" logo]]
The '''Swoosh''' is the [[logo]] of [[USA|American]] [[sportswear]] designer and retailer [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]]. It is one of the most recognizable [[brand]] logos in the world, and the most valuable. {{As of|2025}} the Nike brand was worth $90 billion.<ref>{{cite news 
 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/logos-that-became-legends-icons-from-the-world-of-advertising-768077.html
 | title = Logos that became legends: Icons from the world of advertising
 | newspaper = [[The Independent]]
 | date = 2008-01-04
 | access-date = 13 October 2015 
}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite magazine
 | url =  https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2015/10/22/the-forbes-fab-40-the-most-valuable-brands-in-sports-2015/#adfd90e2e2aa
 | title = The Forbes Fab 40: The World's Most Valuable Sports Brands 2015
 | date = 2015-10-22
 | magazine = Forbes
}}</ref>

[[Bill Bowerman]] and [[Phil Knight]] founded Nike on January 25, 1964, as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS).<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Levinson |first=Philip |title=How Nike almost ended up with a very different name |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nike-got-its-name-2016-1 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> Upon changing its name to Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971, the company adopted the Swoosh as its official logo the same year. [[Carolyn Davidson (graphic designer)|Carolyn Davidson]], a student at [[Portland State University]] during the time Knight taught there, created the logo, attempting to convey motion in its design.

The logo has undergone minor changes from its original design in 1971, today most commonly seen as a solo swoosh, although for much of its history, the logo incorporated the NIKE name alongside the Swoosh. 

The Swoosh has appeared alongside the trademark "[[Just Do It]]" since 1988. Together, these two make up the core of Nike's brand, and has been the face of the company, with many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world sporting the logos.<ref name=":3" />

==History==
The Nike Swoosh corporate trademark was created in 1971 by [[Carolyn Davidson (graphic designer)|Carolyn Davidson]] while she was a [[graphic design]] student at Portland State University. Davidson started as a journalism major but switched to design after taking a design course to "fill an empty elective."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Portland State Fearless {{!}} Carolyn Davidson: Fearless Icon-Maker|url=http://www.pdx.edu/fearless/carolyn-davidson-fearless-icon-maker|access-date=2016-06-26|website=www.pdx.edu}}</ref> She attained a bachelor in graphic design in 1971.<ref name=":1" /> It was here that she met Phil Knight, who was at the time teaching accounting classes at the university. Knight had overheard that Davidson was in search of extra funds for her to take oil painting classes, so he offered to pay Davidson to do some [[freelance]] work for his company, then named Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS). Knight offered to pay Davidson $2 per hour (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|2|1971}}&nbsp;per hour in {{Inflation/year|US}}) for the work that she completed.<ref name=":4">{{cite news |url=https://creativemarket.com/blog/2015/08/21/the-35-nike-logo-and-the-woman-who-designed-it |title=The $35 Nike Logo and the Woman Who Designed It |date=2015-08-21 |publisher=Creative Market}}</ref> For seven years after its founding in 1964, BRS primarily imported [[Onitsuka Tiger]] brand running shoes from [[Japan]]. In 1971, Knight decided to launch his own brand of shoes, which would first appear as cleated shoes for football or soccer, and had a factory in [[Mexico]] ready to make the shoes. All Knight needed was a "stripe"—the industry term for a shoe logo—to go with his new brand, so he approached Davidson for design ideas. He had asked Davidson to make sure the stripe conveyed motion and did not look similar to the three stripes of [[Adidas]]. Over the ensuing weeks, she created at least a half-dozen marks and gathered them together to present to Knight, Bob Woodell and Jeff Johnson (two BRS executives) at the company's home office, at the time, it was located in [[Tigard, Oregon]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />

[[File:Nike swoosh logo71.png|thumb|200px|The logo designed by Davidson for Nike in 1971, for which she was paid $35. The emblem, with some later revisions, has remained as the company logo since then, becoming one of sport's most iconic images.]]
They ultimately selected the mark now known globally as the Swoosh, a shape inspired by the wings of the Greek goddess Nike.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Story behind the Nike logo{{!}}|url=https://www.freelogodesign.org/blog/2018/02/19/the-story-behind-the-nike-logo| website= www.freelogodesign.org}}</ref> "Well, I don't love it", Knight told her, "but maybe it will grow on me."<ref name=":1" /> Once the choice was made, Davidson asked for more time to refine the work she had done on the Swoosh; however, Knight stated that the company had production deadlines to meet and needed the logo as soon as possible. For her services, the company paid her $35 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|35|1971}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) citing that she worked 17.5 hours on creating the Swoosh, although Davidson said that she is certain she worked more hours on the design.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3527512.stm |title=Nike gives board seniors the boot |date=2004-08-02 |publisher=BBC |access-date=2009-06-28 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503000322/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3527512.stm |archive-date=May 3, 2012 }}</ref> The Swoosh was officially trademarked on June 18, 1971 and in June 1972, at the [[United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials]] in [[Eugene, Oregon]], Nike's first official track shoe, the [[Nike Cortez]], was released to the athletes sporting the new Swoosh.<ref name=":6">{{cite magazine
 | url = https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/07/how-nike-turned-sneakers-into-fashion/397610/
 | title = How Nike Turned Running Shoes Into Fashion
 | date = 2015-07-06
 | magazine = The Atlantic
}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Davidson continued working for Blue Ribbon Sports (it officially became Nike, Inc. in 1972) until the design demands of the growing company exceeded one person's capacity. In 1976, the company hired its first external advertising agency, John Brown and Partners, and Davidson went on to work on other clients' needs. In September 1983, Knight gave Davidson a golden Swoosh ring with an embedded diamond and 500 shares of Nike [[capital stock|stock]] (which have since split into 32,000 shares) to express his gratitude.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=EP 131 |url=http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/video/GQXc9ojyK9I_tmNMSc_bj7_bWJMcJB_l/the-late-show-4-28-2016-julianna-margulies-christine-baranski-matt-czuchry-hank-azaria-phil-knight-/ |access-date=2016-05-02 |series=The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |series-link=The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |first=Stephen |last=Colbert |network=CBS |date=2016-04-28 |season=1 |number=131}}</ref> Of the gift, Davidson says, "this was something rather special for Phil to do, because I originally billed him and he paid that invoice."<ref name="Nikebiz22">{{cite web|title=Origin of the Swoosh|url=http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=5&item=origin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023034940/http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=5&item=origin|archive-date=2007-10-23|access-date=2007-04-13|website=[[Nike, Inc.]]}}</ref> Davidson went on to be known as "The Logo Lady".<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|date=2016-06-17|title=How a college student created one of sport's most iconic images|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/college-student-created-sports-iconic-images/story?id=39945185|access-date=2016-06-26|publisher=ABC News}}</ref> She said that she is not a millionaire but lives comfortably. Davidson retired in 2000 and now engages in hobbies and volunteer work, including at the [[Ronald McDonald House Charities|Ronald McDonald House]] at [[Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center]] in [[Oregon]].<ref name="Nikebiz22" />

==Design and color==
[[File:Arsenal Stadium interior Clock End.jpg|thumb|right|The logo at the former [[Highbury Stadium]], [[London]]]]
Nike co-founder Phil Knight was adamant that his company's new logo be a simple design that is fluid and conveys motion and speed. The logo is also said to symbolize the wing of the Greek goddess of victory, [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://famouslogos.net/nike-logo/|title=Nike Logo|publisher=Famous Logos}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

When first released, the design was displayed in a variety of colors to stand out on the track from other shoe manufacturers.<ref name=":6" /> Nike primarily used the red and white color palette on its logo for much of its history. The red is meant to exemplify passion, energy, and joy, while the white color represents nobility, charm and purity.<ref name=":0" />

Until 1995, the official Nike corporate logo for Nike featured the name "NIKE" in Futura Bold, all-caps font, cradled within the Swoosh.<ref name=":0" />

== Brand image ==
One of the most recognized logos in the world, the Nike brand was valued at $26 billion in 2015.<ref name=":3" /> Nike spends about 10% of its annual revenue on advertising and promotions. [[Harvard Business School]] professor Stephen A. Greyser has described the logo as "the living, vibrant symbol of the firm".<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Brettman |first=Allan |date=2011-06-15 |title=Creator of Nike's famed Swoosh remembers its conception 40 years later |work=[[The Oregonian]] |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/nikes_swoosh_brand_logo_hits_4.html |access-date=2023-02-16}}</ref>

Nike has prominently featured the Swoosh logo in its advertising. The endorsements of [[Romanians|Romanian]] [[tennis]] player [[Ilie Năstase]] and [[Long-distance running|distance runner]] [[Steve Prefontaine]] kicked off Nike's brand sponsorships; today hundreds of athletes endorse the company. Nike's contracts with [[Michael Jordan]], [[LeBron James]] and [[Kobe Bryant]] in [[basketball]], [[Shane Warne]] (until 2001) in [[cricket]], [[Cathy Freeman]] in [[Sport of athletics|athletics]], [[Cristiano Ronaldo]] in [[Association football|football]], [[Tiger Woods]] in [[golf]], and [[Roger Federer]] (until 2018) and [[Rafael Nadal]] in tennis are among the largest athlete endorsement deals in sports history.

== Nike's heritage ==
[[Nike (mythology)|Nike]] is the winged goddess of victory in [[Greek mythology]], who sat at the side of [[Zeus]] in Olympus. [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]] is said to have presided over history's earliest battlefields as she flew around rewarding the victors with glory and fame, symbolized by a wreath of leaves. She was often found next to the goddess of wisdom, Athena, who is said to never put up with defeat.

In statues and paintings Nike is represented as a woman with wings dressed in a flowing robe, with a wreath in her outstretched hand. To represent her role as the messenger of victory, she is shown with the staff of [[Hermes]]. In [[Athens]], the statue of Nike is portrayed without wings and is called Nike Apteron (Wingless Victory). Nike's wings were removed from the statue so she would not fly away, as the Athenians believed doing so would indicate her permanent stay in the city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://variousgods.com/nike.html|title=Myth Man's Nike, Goddess of Victory|website=variousgods.com|access-date=2016-04-26}}</ref> A sculpture of Nike at [[Ephesus]] is said to contain the Swoosh in the flowing dress, but there is no evidence this is the origin of the design.

== Lawsuits ==
In 2006, [[Lorillard Tobacco Company|Lorillard]] (the previous owner of Newport) and Nike sued graphic designer Ari Saal Forman after he released his Ari Menthol 10s shoes, which combined the design of the [[Air Force (shoe)|Nike Air Force 1]] with Newport's spinnaker and colors. According to Forman, the shoes were "dedicated to the two brands who have taken the most and given the least." As a result of the lawsuit, Forman is not legally allowed to own a pair of Menthol 10s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-bootleg-nikes-that-got-banned-by-big-tobacco/ |title=The Bootleg Nikes That Got Banned by Big Tobacco |publisher=[[Vice Media]] |date=October 20, 2018 |access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://weartesters.com/ari-saal-forman-explains-menthol-10s-banned-big-tobacco/ |title=Ari Saal Forman Explains Why the Menthol 10s Were Banned by Big Tobacco |website=Wear Testers |date=October 19, 2018 |access-date=December 9, 2018}}</ref>

In 2021, Nike sued the art collective [[MSCHF]] for the "[[Satan Shoes]]", a modified version of [[Nike Air Max 97]] with explicitly Satanic imagery. Nike claimed [[trademark infringement]] and that its brand was being erroneously linked to Satanism. A US district judge ruled that the modified shoes could not be sold.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Elan |first1=Priya |title=Judge blocks Lil Nas X's 'Satan Shoes' from shipping to customers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/apr/01/lil-nas-x-satan-shoes-judge-blocks-shipment |access-date=April 1, 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=April 1, 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Wiktionary|swoosh|Nike}}
{{Commons category|Nike, Inc. logos}}
{{Reflist}}{{Nike, Inc.|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Commercial logos]]
[[Category:Nike brands]]
[[Category:Symbols introduced in 1971]]