Adidas
THE Soul TO THE Sole - OF -
Logo
Apart from being the
magic number, the power of three is a well known tool in communicating.
The impact of the number
three can be seen in many examples:
Shapes require a minimum
of three sides.
Three people can have a
party.
Compositions just do look
better with three elements. As children we learn ABC
and 123.
Three is a memorable
number, for instance here are a few television
programmes or films that are easily recalled: “Ed, Edd
‘n’ Eddy”, “Me, Myself and Irene”, “Three Blind Mice” and “Three Musketeers”. Both the “Originals”
and the modern Adidas logo feature three elements.
Because of this it’s hard
to see anything with three
stripes on it and not think of Adidas.
A strong, bold logo.
High levels of pixellation cause the type to be
barely legible, yet the three stripes are still recognisable.
TYPE
‘Impossible is nothing’ With a slogan that is
perhaps not as recognisable as other elements of their
branding, Adidas can always rely on their history and
are constantly reminding the world of their originality through their ‘Originals’ line. This line tells us
that not only are the items in this line original to
Adidas, but Adidas are the original big brand in the world of sports fashion.
adidas lower case tracking -20
itc avant garde gothic pro - demi
century gothic - bold
ORIGINALS TRACKING -20 DIN PRO - REGULAR
Adidas typically use a
lower case custom designed
typeface that is similar to both Avant Garde Gothic Pro and Century Gothic.
In contrast, if a product
is from the Originals line by Adidas the item will be adorned with an all-caps
typeface that resembles Din Pro. This combination of
type clearly distinguishes
the Originals line from the
other lines, especially used in combination with the Originals logo.
PERSONS Adidas started life when
two German brothers who
previously ran a shoe making factory togther, ‘Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik’
(Dassler Brothers Shoe
Factory) fell out in World War II when Rudolf Dassler
became closer to Nazi Party than his sibling Adolf
Dassler. Rudolf had been
found by American soldiers and accused of being a
member of the SS, as the war efforts came to an
end. After an earlier large scale disagreement between the brothers Rudolf was
convinced Adolf had set him up. This saw the end of the factory the brothers ran,
so they went their separate ways. Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler started working under the
with an African American
the 2003 Rugby World Cup he
D.M.C. This deal came about
to ensure England won and
Hip Hop group called Run-
after the group released a track titled ‘My Adidas’.
scored the winning drop-kick took home the trophy.
As well as in field sports
After Adidas realised the
Adidas is represented in
had given the ‘Superstar’
is currently at the top
amount of promotion the trio sneaker the deal had to be
court games. Andy Murray Andy Murray
made. The group actually
increased sales after their tour of America. The track
was a response to a song by Jerrald Deas called ‘Felon Sneakers’ that had smeared the image of a sneaker
wearer. Run-D.M.C. brought
of his game after success
to flip this perspective and
also had a very successful
out their track to attempt show sneaker shoes in a positive light.
Adidas has been a major
player in a large variety of modern day sports. The first
example is in 1954 where the german national team wore
Adidas’ Football boots that
encourperated screw in studs at the World Cup. The studs gave the team an advantage at this tournament, which
in the US Open in 2012. He 2012 Olympics where he
represented Great Britain. He beat Roger Federer in
the final at Wimbledon to win the gold. Great Britain’s Olympic efforts were also
Adolf Dassler
endorsed by Adidas. The logo was seen on all the kits for all the sports that Great
Britain put forward a team in.
was hit by a period of severe rain thoughout.
Nowadays a number of
sports are represented by figureheads that are headhunted by the company name ‘Adidas’
in 1949. Once
released his brother Rudolf went on to create a new
firm ‘Ruda’ which was later re-branded ‘Puma’ and is
for their talent and the
attention these sportsmen
attract. With sportsmen and women breaking into the
celebrity culture this is an
Jonny Wilkinson
now amongst Adidas’ biggest rivals.
Now and in recent times
Adidas has commanded a huge percentage of the revenue
created by sports footwear, this is due in a large
part to the brand attaching
itself to both sportsmen and
opportunity for large scale advertising.
In 2003 the world of
Rugby Union was placed
on the image of one man,
Jonny Wilkinson. Along With David Beckham he appeared in several ‘viral’ styled television adverts, also
shown on YouTube, which at people in the media.
In 1986 Adidas broke
political barriers and
stereotypes by engaging
in a corporate sponsorship
that time was just coming
to be known worldwide. For a long time Jonny Wilinson held the highest aggregate score by one man in
international rugby and in
Run-DMC
David Beckham Only Adidas boots allow
this man to bend the ball in the way he does.
ON TREND ZX 8000 In 2012 Adidas made a
move towards appealing to the runner market where
Nike’s Air Max 1 has had huge success.
After Run-D.M.C.’s ‘My
Adidas’ hit the airways
in ‘86, there was only one sneaker that the youth of LA Superstar
those times wanted to be seen in. The ‘Superstar’
looked very similar, yet all
that went down incredibly
a place in the sneaker
introducing ‘three’ pins
still sold and have claimed hall of fame and are still
sold in equal quantities in
sneaker boutiques across the
well with the public. By Adidas furthered their
power of three identity as
world today.
In 1982 Adidas released a
shoe to rival Nike’s ‘Air’ technology. The Oregon was
a contrasting style to many running shoes around the time of its release. The
model featured the raised was most definitely the shoe any sneaker fanatic had to Oregon
have. By growing up in some of the least wealthiest
heel deemed to be necessary at the time to increase
seen in the use of their
it was designed in such a
was this shoe released just
athletes’ performances yet
places in New York, this was
create another customisable
of the group could afford
element to a sneaker that
before hitting the big time.
the general public could
It is widely known that the
interact with.
same classic white Superstar
Even though the trends
shoe would have many lives
way that the angle was less
shoes lives by keeping them
Whereas the Oregon was
obvious.
‘fresh’ by continuously
undoubtedly designed with
the laces depending on the
person in mind, in 1984
cleaning them and changing rest of their outfit. Having your ‘kicks’ colour coded to match your jackets was a huge trend at that time
and the least expensive way Micro pacer
for these models were
shoe had a cult following, youths would extend their
of doing this was to build a collection of laces and
the professional sports Adidas made a bold move in designing a range of shoes that would help
running enthusiasts keep
tabs on their efforts. They
achieved this by introducing
keeping the standard white Superstar model as a blank canvas.
Tennis and other
indoor sports are largely
responsible for some of the
most iconic and recognisable models. Due to their white
or in some cases translucent gum coloured soles, models that reduced marking
the floor in sports like
electronic technology
and all racket sports became
design. On the left tongue
Basketball 5-a-side Football
Gazelle
very popular in the early
to the world of footwear
of the ‘Micropacer’ Adidas introduced the pedometer
technology, a revolutionary piece of kit for that time in sports technology.
The ‘80s has to be the
most successful decade for sneaker design at Adidas. In the same year as the 1980s.
Models like the Malmo,
Gazelle and Tobacco all
in time for the LA Olympics but Adidas had managed to
the only shoe that members
in Queens. Before the
trademark stripes. Not only
‘Micropacer’ they released
another shoe that had a huge appeal. The ‘LA’ featured detailing to the heal
big at the time of their release, these shoes all now contribute to the
Adidas ‘Originals’ archive and are often re-released in different colour ways annually.
James Gwyn Goodwin Davies Graphic Design BA (Hons) Graduate 2012
Scan this QR code or find me at jggd.co.uk
All copy found within this document is sourced via my background knowledge on the subject, or has come directly from the website that represents each of the brands featured.