Converse subtly redesigns logo with a nod to its history
Many people, even the most hardcore sneakerheads, might not have noticed the change in the Converse logo. But Nike, which owns Converse, recently rolled out a new logo for the shoe company that gives a big nod to its heritage.
Converse new logo (l)
The redesigned mark, which is currently on the Converse website and has been in some marketing materials, owes a ton to the brand’s history, using elements of older logos in making a new, yet quite familiar, new mark.
The company used to use a wordmark, with the iconic Converse star in the middle of the ‘O.' The star is still part of the logo, but the name is now under a combination of the star jutting up against a chevron, which has been used as a design element on the company’s shoes in the past.
A story on Cool Hunting not only took notice of the change but also grabbed a conversation with Converse’s vice president of global brand design, Adam Cohn, to find out about the change and the reason behind it.
"Converse exists to serve the daring spirit of youth with tools that enable movement(s),” said Cohn in the interview. "The star chevron has been in use since the 70s and we wanted to make it a major part of our identity – that part of the brief was clear: Let’s leverage an icon that’s part of our heritage that’s also representative of moving forward. The challenge was getting our name in the mix so we had to develop a new wordmark.”
The new wordmark is also steeped in Converse history, as the creative team reviewed past logos dating back to the Converse Rubber Company from Malden, Massachusetts in the 1920s and 1930s.
“The 'Converse' word has been written in many different ways as a logo over time; in the end it was about mining details,” Cohn explained in the story.
The logo will take time to be fully integrated into the brand, and Cohn said that the iconic Chuck Taylor logo is staying intact, but the redesign is a step forward for the heritage footwear maker.