"that looks nice, but how much is it?

in 1969, the head designer at nrk (the norwegian broadcasting corporation), ingolf holme, designed the nrk-logo. two years later carolyn davidson created the "nike" logo, also refferet to as the "swoosh".



for as long as i can remember, i have always known of these two brands. in over a decade, the nrk was the only television-channel in norway, in norwegian and my first set of "real" sports-shoes was a pair of nike.

both nike and nrk has always been on of my favorite corporate brands. mostly since the image of the logo activates good associations and feelings experienced over time, from the envious glances at my feet from the other kids in the neighborhood to the childrensprogram about a bear named "kolargol" and an evil circus-manager. but also because of their graphic shape - a sort of simplicity towards what they represent and what they are designed to express.


the first line of nike footwear is introduced in 1972.


screenshots from the nrk.

for the nrk-logo, mr. holme was paid NOK 3000,- ( approx. $450 USD). ms. davidson submitted a bill of $35 USD for her work. time passed on, and the two brands grew. in the late 60s and early 70s no one knew what sort of impact these brands would have on the marked in 2006. today nike has become one of the biggest producers of athletic shoes, sports equipment and accessories and employing over 26.000 people worldwide. the nrk is the major broadcasting institution in norway with nine radio channels, two TV channels with an approx. 100% national coverage and is the workplace for 3425 people (2005).

In 1983 ms. davidson received a gold "swoosh"-ring from phil knight (founder) and an envelope filled with Nike stock to express his gratitude. on the other hand, in 1997, during the nrks launch of its second channel, they placed an "1" behind the already exiting nrk-logo. mr. holme objected to this and argued that it could not be changed without his approval. the argument ended up in court and mr. holme and the nrk agreed on a settlement for NOK 200.000 (aprox. $ 35.000). now they could do what they wanted and ingolf holme agreed to stay away.

here we have two different views and outcomes, on two identical tasks. the task of giving a business an emotional tag, the logo, and how much its designer is appreciated. mr. knight did not have to pay, or give, carolyn davidson anything, but he did. the nrk could just have asked ingolf holme for approval, or even help, they did not.

i am not into the economy of things, the corporate business plans of the world, the strategic meetings in noumerous boardrooms across the globe and i dont wear a suit and a tie to work. im a simple creative of original ideas, a creator of emotion through sight and visual and verbal expressions. i work with my heart. the maths i leave to somebody else.

in all fairness, a brand logo is worthless, and even hurtful to its companies, if the content associated to the logo does not have the quality expected by the marked. but that is not the responsibility of its designer.



the nrk-logo after the inplementation of the "1".


a pair og nike-shoes today.

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the nike logo is from nike.com
the nrk logo is from nrk.no
screenshots is from tv ark
picture of nike shoe is from genealogy of speed