Some of y’all caught my masterpiece IG reel ‘How many swooshes are there on 100 pairs of shoes’ and the overwhelming response was not ‘wow’ that’s interesting’ but was more ‘dude you must be bored?’
Truth is, I wasn’t bored at all. I was inspired. I copped this Nike hat at a second-hand store that had a tag for Carolyn Davidson on it. I googled ‘Carolyn Davidson’ and realized that she was the lady that created the swoosh logo and got paid $35 in return. Yeah, I know, they took care of her with stock options and that’s cool and all…but…
…it had me thinking…this ubiquitous logo has virtually taken over my life...I originally wanted to count each and every swoosh in my home, but quickly realized that that would take me more than just a couple of days and I’m not even sure how accurate my number would be. In all reality, I bet there are close to 50,000 swooshes in my home (shoes, clothes, cards, magazines) and I don’t even have that crazy of a collection like some of y'all. Sure, I have a lot, but nothing anyone (but me) really cares about.
But think about that. Is that the graphic designer's dream? To have your logo become such an integral part of society that it’s not all that crazy that one person would own enough products to be in possession of 50,000 copies of that logo?
And what’s even CRAZIER to think about - I have probably 50,000 swooshes in my possession - all representing products I’ve purchased - yet Nike likely doesn’t even know I exist. They absolutely couldn't care less about me. They probably find me to be more of a nuisance than anything (for calling them out, returning stuff, making long-winded posts about them). And...that...what am I supposed to make of that? I'm daily repping a company that absolutely doesn't value me. Not in the least.
Mind.
Blown.
Bored? Nah.
Inspired to change? Yeah.
(P.S. It's my birthday and I know Nike is gonna hit me with a 30% off coupon today too lol)