Nike company logo is the famous swoosh that represents the wing of the Greek Goddess of Victory statue. The design was created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University who was paid for this work just US$35. Carolyn had been offered the job by Philip Knight, one of company founders, who said he didn’t love the logo he got from the young designer but was sure it would grow on him. Later when Nike became an international sportswear producer Knight gave Davidson a diamond Swoosh ring and an envelope filled with Nike stock to express his gratitude.
Adidas brand was established in 1948 by Adolf Dassler after his father’s company Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik was split. The name of the company was initially Addas as abbreviation of founder’s initials. However, a few months later Addas was re-named into Adidas (Adolf was often called ‘Adi’ by friends). The ‘Three Stripes’ that feature the company logo were bought from the Finnish sport company Karhu Sports in the 1950s. By the way, the stripes symbolized the popularity of the company on three different continents.
Adolf Dassler’s brother Rudolf Dassler, in turn, founded Puma brand, which was named Ruda in the first time. The initial logo of the company was different from that we know now. According to one of versions it was created by Rudolf himself. And only in 1960 the logo re-designed into the picture we are all familiar with.
Gucci company was founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921 in Florence. One of his six children designed the Gucci famous logo in 1933 that featured overlapping G letters. However, these aren’t only G letters, they symbolize two stirrups showing the brand’s legacy – Guccio Gucci used to sell horse accessories.
Givenchy fashion brand was originated in 1952 by Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy. Now the company manufactures perfumes as well as clothing and jewelry. The Givenchy designer logo is very attractive but rather simple at the same time. It consists of a quadruple ‘G’ forming a larger square. Givenchy logo reminds of Celtic jewelry with a similar kind complicated design.
Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO) was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Franconia to San Francisco, to open a west coast branch of his brothers’ New York dry goods business. But already in 1870s they started selling denim overalls. Modern jeans were not produced until the 1920s. The first logo of the company appeared in 1886. It was named Two Horse Brand and featured horses trying to tear a pair of jeans part. According to a legend a locomotive driver tied two carriages with jeans and drove both to the destination station.
Louis Vuitton fashion house was opened in 1854 and until now it has been famous for their high quality goods. The company logo is a stylized Japanese inspired floral motif, representing the brand’s initials.
Hello Kitty character was created in 1974 by Shintaro Tsuji, Sanrio company owner. In 1976 the cute kitty was registered as the trade logo of the company. Initially there were two names: Hello Kitty and Kitty White. The first seemed to be more appealing.
