Nike paid $35 for the Swoosh logo design in 1971.
The designer was Carolyn Davidson, a graphic-design student at Portland State University. Phil Knight, who was teaching accounting there at the time, hired her for freelance work for Blue Ribbon Sports, the company that later became Nike. Davidson was paid $2 per hour and was asked to create a mark suggesting motion without resembling Adidas’s three stripes.
She produced several concepts, and the company selected the curved mark now known as the Swoosh. The invoice totaled $35, a modest fee reflecting the 17.5 hours recorded for the project. Davidson later said she believed she had spent more time on the work than that figure suggests. The logo was officially trademarked on June 18, 1971.
The $35 payment is often presented as the complete financial story, but Nike later recognized Davidson’s contribution. In 1983, Knight gave her a gold Swoosh ring containing a diamond and 500 shares of Nike stock. The company itself was still called Blue Ribbon Sports when she created the logo; it adopted the Nike name in 1972. The Swoosh’s inspiration is commonly linked to the wings of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.