Converse
THE Soul TO THE Sole - OF -
Logo
There have been and are
currently many different
logos attached to Converse
shoes. Most recognisable of
all has to be the canvas All Star.
A simplified version of
the original logo is often found on more modern re-
leases of the All Star which use more recent technology and materials.
Models of shoes that bear
no resemblance to the All
Star will sometimes feature a logo with a rotated star
accompanied by an arrow, for instance modern day bas-
ketball shoes will use the arrow logo.
A star within a circle.
This recognisable composition has been attached to the feet of most of the
population of the world. An
approximate 60% of the world have a pair of Converse Allstars.
TYPE
A bold sans-serif to con-
trast with. and complement, the older looking serif
found on the ankle of the converse all star.
Converse have used cus-
tom typefaces in both of
their brand images across
their history. The original typeface found on the All Star shoe features large
slab serifs which give it a vintage look in modern day
society. The modern equivalents are Rockwell and an
All Star inspired ‘Allstar’ typeface.
The new Converse type-
face is very similar to this ‘Grungerocker’ font found
online. This custom typeface works, in contrast to the
original, due to the mix in variety of shoes converse are now producing.
One typeface shows cus-
tomers the future whereas
the original reminds us of the rich history.
PERSONS You can’t think of Con-
verse without thinking of their instantly recognis-
able ‘All-Star’ shoes. The name attached to this shoe
Metal heads, rappers, emos, skaters and hipsters.
Nirvana lead-man Kurt
Cobain wore the Converse All
and inscribed across the
securing a huge audience for ‘The Weapon’, Con-
verse’s most recent Basket-
ball model. Amongst the first to endorse the modern day
Kurt
Cobain
Converse was Magic Johnson
familiar patch positioned on
in 1986. He was an almighty
the ankle is Chuck Taylor.
force, so embodied the name of the shoes he had on his
Chuck Taylor Magic Johnson
Star throughout his life
and even had influence over a limited edition pair called ‘One star’ which were re-
leased after the musician’s tragic death, in a somewhat
controversial move by Courtney Love.
feet. He won a champion-
can have an effect on the
Valuable Player Award in his
Fictional characters
In 1921 he joined a Basketball team sponsored by the
Converse Company called The Converse All Stars. Taylor held basketball clinics in high schools all over the
popularity of a shoe too. The tenth doctor from the
ship and an NBA Finals Most rookie season.
‘Doctor Who’ series, played by David Tennant was seen strutting around in a mad
fashion in Converse shoes.
David Tennant - The Doctor
country and while teaching the fundamentals of
the game, he sold the All
Star shoes. In 1923, after Chuck Taylor made improve-
ments to the shoe, Converse decided to incorporate his name onto the ankle patch
that displayed the Converse
Obviously in recent times
All Star logo. Then, in the
the original Converse All
was put into the design,
the NBA as other models have
1930s Taylor’s signature
which is how the shoe became known as the “Chuck Taylor” All Star. When first cre-
ated, the Converse All Star had three main styles - a
Star has not been worn in been kept more up to date
in terms of sports performance.
Both Kobe Bryant of
the Lakers and Andre Miller
Kobe Bryant
monochromatic shoe with a
black canvas upper and black rubber soles, an all white
shoe with blue and red trim, and an all black leather and rubber shoe. It wasn’t un-
til after World War II when
Converse decided to make the toe guard, laces and outer
of Cleveland Cavaliers (‘02)
appearance of the iconic
Both men have made several
wraps white, which gave the black and white Converse All Stars of today.
Converse shoes are worn
all over the world today.
The shoes span many sub-cultures including: greasers, punks, grunge rockers, al-
ternative rockers, surfers,
have worn Converse in play.
appearances for the US team,
Andre Miller
Chuck Taylor The man behind one of
the most spoken names on
the planet. A man that went after no fame, he simply
improved a shoe and in the
process improved Basketball too. It’s surprising that
on the whole, no one would recognise him.
ON TREND This instantly recognisa-
ble ‘Chuck Taylor All Star’. It’s thought that 60 percent of the planet own a pair.
A timeless plimsoll design that has hardly changed
throughout its long history.
There is no other shoe on
earth that has had as many
variations as the ‘Converse All Star’ or ‘Chuck Tay-
lor’. The fact the majority of this particular model
is canvas, lends itself to
customizing. Whether this is done by individuals at home, trained professional artists
ACDC
or the manufacturers. Other models have been created by Converse but haven’t even
been close to making a rip-
ple in the ocean that is the number of sales the ‘Chuck Taylor All Star’ has made.
The Original All Star
DC Comics The models have not
changed to any great length
since this early 1920s pair. The only thing to do at this point is list a number of
the biggest collaborations
made by Converse and people
or brands in the public eye. Jimi Hendrix
Sailor Jerrys
Gorillaz
Gorillaz (2)
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.