Revealing The Not-So-Hidden: What Secrets Mom Hid You About Nike

Some people were born gifted, and others enhanced it over time. Though enhanced, there are still talents that can be hard to acquire or to learn. Those people blessed with the skill should cherish it. They should play the toys that God gave them.

One natural skill that agitates jealousy among others is artistry. Art has many forms, and ancient history proved that people used art to communicate. And even until now, art serves as a link that connects people. Not everyone can do those things, and not all people can express their thoughts through art. 

The Logo Lady

Expressing oneself through images and artwork is extraordinary. People who acquire that gift have a vivid imagination. And that vision gave way to people like Carolyn Davidson, one of the famous graphic designers in the world today and the one responsible for the famous Nike Swoosh Logo that you can see often on Nike shoes, silicone rubber wristbands and other garments manufactured by the brand.

Carolyn was one of the many who never imagined how her talents got her to places. She knew how to play with brushes and paints, but never pushed it in school. Carolyn was not into graphic designing because she was studying Journalism in college at the time. But a talent like that is unique and innate, and with just a little push, her attention went back to designs.

Later she realized that majoring designs was a bit expensive for her and could not even afford to buy herself oil painting supplies. But that didn’t stop her from enhancing her skills. Her paths then crossed with Phil Knight, the owner of Nike, whom at that time was teaching Accountancy at the University.

The Birth of Swoosh

Phil asked Carolyn to design a shoe logo in exchange for painting supplies. That saved her from worrying about where she could get the money for her school needs. A little bit of luck that brought these two people together. She accepted the offer and worked with Phil.

Unlike now where graphic design is present online, people have to hire people before to get their designs done, and it’s hard to look for such people to hire. For instance, a lot provides a variety of artwork like personalized Christmas cards for holidays and cheap business cards for personal use. It could have been easier if companies like Print Meister existed before for Phil’s account.

Carolyn sketched five different designs on a tissue paper in agreement with Phil’s request. The logo should speak about movement, should be striped but should not be the same with Adidas. However, Phil did not like the designs and just accepted it because of the deadline. 

Carolyn’s Career with Nike

Carolyn received $35 for this simple logo that hits the market up until now. She continued working with Phil for $2 an hour. The payment seemed fair for she was still a student that time. Her work includes making charts and graphs for Nike, at that point, it was still called Blue Ribbon Sports.

She Finished her degree in graphic design in 1971 and stayed with Nike for four years. She was creating ads, brochures, catalogs, and posters. Soon they could not handle the advertising needs and decided to give it to a full-service advertising agency. Carolyn decided to choose homemaking and sometimes did freelance jobs as a graphic designer.

Her stay with Nike was worthwhile, though she only got $2 an hour for her talents. Still, it made her finish her degree and, in some way, hone her skills even more. She did not even ask for more. For her, Phil helped her finish her studies.

Humility Over Pride

Even with Nike’s growth, Carolyn never asked anything for her design. She just continued working there until a bigger designing company took over. She’s thankful for the opportunity that made finish her education. She never asked for anything, unlike others who claim for rights after their works meet success.

That is what the owners of Nike liked about her, her humility. And that is the reason why her work did not go unnoticed. A few years after Nike went massive, Phil invited Carolyn to lunch. But that simple meal became a party to honor her and her design.

At that time, Nike was not as big. However, Phil gave Carolyn 500 shares of the company. She never uses that share which is already almost a million today. Carolyn is just another worker of Phil, and he is not required to do those things and so as Carolyn. But her humility paid off.

Takeaway

Graphic designing is never easy and intensifying it takes time and effort even to those who have the gift of arts and designs. Nowadays, technology can make those designs easier, and anyone, with or without a skill can learn. 

But, despite the fact that technology aids a person in graphic designs, still, innate imaginations from artists are priceless. No one can easily imitate the skills that naturally talented artists have, not even technology. 

Take Carolyn’s life for instance, after Nike blooms big time and other designing agencies covered all their advertising. Still, she’s the one who made the Swoosh design that’s all over your silicone rubber wristbands and shoes which is known by everyone as Nike.