Adidas is the name of the legendary sportswear brand founded in Germany in 1924. Today, the company is regarded as the largest European maker of sports fashion and the world’s second-largest sportswear brand. This article talks about the meaning of the old Adidas logo shoes.
Its Background
Adolf Dassler probably had no idea that he was launching one of the world’s top sports companies when he began creating sports shoes in his mother’s laundry room in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
Rudolf, his older brother, began working for him in 1924. Their items acquired popularity over time. By WWII, Adolf and Rudolf had sold approximately 200,000 pairs of shoes per year. After the brothers split up in 1947, each of them established his or her own business. Adolf Dassler established Adidas AG, while Rudolf established Ruda. Although both brothers utilized the same process to name their businesses (combining the initial letters of their names and surnames), Adi’s acronym was more successful, while Ruda quickly changed Puma.
1924
Dassler was the co-founders’ surname in the initial logo. A boot was carried by a bird in the image below (the emblem probably was supposed to show how light the boots were). The design was encased in a shield.
They Begin in 1949
The origins of the Adidas logos may be traced back to the creation of the Adidas brand. adidas produced just sports shoes when the company was formed in 1949 by Adolf Dassler. As a result, it should come as no surprise that the original Adidas logo contained just that. The early logo included a track and field spiked shoe—complete with the distinctive 3-Stripes, of course—sitting between the two d’s of Adidas. “Sportschuhe” (“sports shoes” in German) appears beneath Adidas, and the emblem frequently appears in a shade of blue that has become synonymous with the brand.
This design, coupled with the 3-Stripe trademark that began to appear on every shoe (and later clothes), was the catalyst for the entire phenomenon. Those distinctive stripes, by the way, have no numerological significance. Dassler evaluated numerous forms and quantities of stripes and discovered that three just showed up most prominently in photography—an important factor for a new-to-the-scene sports gear manufacturer looking to make a splash. Clearly, it worked, since the 3-Stripes are still a globally recognized brand that represents Adidas.
The name “Adidas” began to be used after the company was separated into two distinct firms. The firm name was featured in the original Adidas logo. The “D’s” extended ends were “holding” a shoe. Above it, the name of the founder, Adolf Dassler, was arched.
1950
Only the firm’s name remained. It was supplied in white and was enclosed in a rectangle with rounded sides. The ends of the “a’s” became more defined.
Introduction of the Trefoil in the 1970S
When Adidas expanded beyond selling shoes and introduced clothes for the first time in 1972, a new logo was introduced. The Trefoil was created by a small, collaborative team of Adidas executives and two designers from a German creative firm. To maintain true to Adidas’ reputation as a company with three stripes, the new logo incorporated three leaf-shaped foils inspired by florals. The 3-Stripes are ever-present in the leaves.
Introduction of the Equipment Logo and Three Bars in the 1990S
We sought to build a new logo in 1989, with the assistance of a visionary designer and creative consultant. The Adidas Equipment logo was inspired by Adidas’s long-standing commitment to providing athletes with the best equipment possible. This mark was created by sketching the renowned three stripes as seen from the inside of an Adidas sneaker. The new Equipment logo, introduced in 1991, featured the 3-Stripes in a three-bar layout, with the words “Adidas Equipment” sitting below in Adidas trademark green color.
This logo is likely known to you because the Three Bars have since been altered for usage as part of various business names, including the Badge of Sport, which was established in 1996. The Three Bars are paired with the Adidas wordmark in this design. The Three-Bars now stands alone in the newly designed Performance logo.
Today’s Brand With Three Strips
The streamlined Performance logo, which is also our brand symbol, represents the greatest product for athletes. Then there’s the Badge of Sport, which has been repurposed as the Adidas Sportswear brand logo. This logo signifies products that are inspired by sports and built to last. Last but not least is the Trefoil, Adidas Originals’ primary brand mark. This logo portrays things that are historical and futuristic symbols. While the Performance and Sportswear insignia are exclusively found in black and white, the Trefoil is frequently seen in black and white or the distinctive Originals blue.
Font
The typeface chosen appears to be a wonderful match for Adidas’ clean, almost Spartan brand identity. Since the company’s inception in 1949, the logo has always been based on the ITC Avant Garde Gothic font.
There has been some experimentation with the intricacies of the letter shape and weight in the Adidas emblem. Later versions were bolder than their predecessors; the “a’s” had a slightly altered top right end, and the dot above the I changed from a circle to a square in 1971. In addition, beginning in 1971, the proportions of the “d’s” grew closer to those of the “a’s.” Despite this, the essential structure of the glyphs and their placement remained unchanged. As a result, the entire perception has remained totally consistent. Unless you examine the typography of several versions of the logo side by side, it’s difficult to tell the difference.
Color
The color scheme of the company’s major emblem has been unusually consistent. Since the company’s inception, the black logo on a white backdrop has been utilized. Nonetheless, because this is the type of emblem that is placed on a wide range of products of varied colors, it’s only logical that the color of the symbol has to be adjusted each time.
Adidas Logo Old
The Adidas three stripes emblem is one of the world’s most recognizable.
Today, the “three-stripes” brand has a unique place in the hearts of pop culture fans because of high-profile collaborations like Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, as well as the continued popularity of the Adidas Originals collection.
Everything began with a cobbler in a small German village. Adolf “Adi” Dassler began creating sports shoes in his mother’s lavatory in the early 1920s, shortly after the First World War. Rudolf, his older brother, joined the company, and the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory was created.
Adolf Dassler persuaded US sprinter Jesse Owens to wear his shoes during the 1936 Summer Olympics 1936. Dassler’s shoes were removed following Owen’s four gold medal triumphs.
The sportswear brand now provides apparel to NBA, NFL, and college teams. Adidas reported a profit of roughly $23 billion in 2020, a decrease from $27.9 billion in 2019.
The Trefoil Logo Debuted in 1971
When the company began producing apparel in 1971, it modified its logo form to the now-iconic trefoil. This trefoil logo is made up of three football shapes grouped in a curved pattern at the bottom. This 1970s design is now utilized as a throwback in the Adidas Originals brand.
The trefoil logo was designed to highlight the variety of products while keeping incorporating the famous three lines for which the company was quickly becoming known. The three leaves reflect the three continents where Adidas shoes were sold: North America, Europe, and Asia.
The Mountain Logo in 1991
By the 1990s, the logo had evolved into a more recognizable version of the line trio, which is presently used for Performance items. The previous stripes were changed to a little angle to represent how they appeared on the shoes. The eye-catching trio of stripes was arranged into a mountain-shaped emblem that depicts overcoming a challenge.
Adidas Neo, 2002
The stripes were enclosed in a circle in 2002, resembling an animal scratch or three trails leading into the background. The stripes here are stylized, with narrower ends that sweep in a gentle arch toward the right side. At this moment, the logo is still quite flat, and the typeface for the logotype is the same. The Adidas Style product lines now represent its emblem.
The Adidas Word-Mark Logo Debuted in 2005
The company’s wordmark logo is a timeless homage to the three stripes that make the brand so easily identifiable. The logo is broad enough to cover all aspects of the business while still preserving the company’s overall style.
Adidas Logo Shoes
The world-famous brand (Adidas logo) makes use of the loge in doing sports shoes, and the company name was “Dassler Shoes” after its founder, a German cobbler named Adolf Dassler. And, as is customary in fairytales, he had a younger brother, Rudolf Dassler, who had finally become his competitor. But long before then, the Dassler brothers were extremely successful, selling thousands of shoes and achieving national recognition for their craftsmanship.
Every single iteration of the Adidas logo design reflected a thorough search for the perfect look. As a result, the follow-up to a 1949 logotype was less graphic, with a changeover to a typographic style that left only the company’s name. This version, unlike the present one, had pointed “a” letters and distinct “d” tails, as well as an entire word inscribed inside a rounded rectangle.
Adolf Dassler dubbed Adidas “the three-stripe company” when the company debuted a new design concept in 1967 that had three stripes along the side of each shoe. The three-stripes trademark was really from the Finnish sports brand Karhu Sports. There’s even a legend-like story about the price Dassler paid for this Adidas logo version: €1,600 and two bottles of whiskey — the ideal conditions for a Finnish company after WWII.
All of the shoe models at the time had three stripes on the side instead of a distinct Adidas emblem, but they were a big push toward the establishment of one of the most identifiable logotypes of the previous century and now.
Additional information
There’s little known about the corporation, which is dealing with brand issues (it’s alleged that Adolf Dassler was drawn to Nazi ideology during WWII) and target audience worries. However, with a goal to showcase the diversity, the Adidas trefoil emblem was born. It’s an Adidas logo that consists of three leaves that represent North America, Europe, and Asia, the three major landmasses where Adidas shoes are for sale. As you can see, the three stripes are still present, completing the Adidas emblem and making it the first corporate mark of a corporation. The Adidas trefoil has been designated for the Adidas Originals range.
Mountain
At the beginning of the 1990s, Adidas design director Peter Moore assisted the Adidas logo in finding its new dimensions: this time the renowned stripes flipped the way they began to depict the mountain emblem. Three bars in ascending order (inspired by the way stripes appear on footwear) represent the difficult path of accomplishing a goal. This topic is especially relevant to the challenges that sportsmen encounter when they choose Adidas clothes and footwear for sporting activities.
A year later, Adidas collaborated with Salomon Sports, blending the blue color of the Adidas emblem with the red color scheme of Salomon. The logotype looks like a diamond-shaped figure, but there was also a silhouette of a man lifting his arms in victory. Such powerful visuals for the company’s performing items.
The Neo
The year 2002 sees the development of NEO, an Adidas group sub-brand that shifts its emphasis from athletics to everyday fashion and young generation style. All of the Adidas products in the collection should have a reduction in price, and the Adidas emblem has a new design as a sphere with the three iconic stripes. This variation of the Adidas logo was frequently visible as a white icon on a green backdrop. It’s an excellent illustration of a versatile theme putting in new, contrasting geometrics.
The Truth About Adidas Tennis Shoes
Without a hint of irony, Adidas has established a metaverse comprising many product lines they have exhibited, all revolving around the well-developed three-stripes idea. Pioneers in several areas of the shoe industry, the brand has never missed an opportunity to demonstrate something fresh to the athlete community. Adidas launched the first-ever leather tennis shoe in 1963, inspired by Horst Dassler (Adi Dassler’s son), laying the groundwork for the traditional Adidas shoe line we know today. This brand-new model was to become after the French professional tennis player Robert Haillet.
When Haillet departed from sports, the product needed a new ambassador, someone who was still playing tennis and could represent the line. Between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, an American player named Stan Smith was a significant figure in tennis, so the company offered him a deal that included royalties for using his name. The Adidas emblem incorporated Stan Smith’s image with his signature on the shoe tongue in the early 1980s.
Adidas Logo Meaning
Adidas (spelled “Adidas” by the corporation) is an abbreviation of the name of the brand’s founder, Adolf (“Adi”) Dassler. After World War I, the Dassler family began manufacturing shoes, and at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, American track and field sensation Jesse Owens wore shoes that were purportedly a gift from Adi Dassler.
In the thoughts of millions of customers, Adidas firmly has a connection with the three stripes. It’s not surprising given that the corporation has stuck to its visual insignia since 1949. The early Adidas logo featured a spiked running shoe suspended between two long ends of the letter “d.”
However, it was visible when Karhu Sports, a big shoe brand, makes use of the identical emblem. To settle the disagreement, Adolf Dassler, the inventor of Adidas, paid a price comparable to 1,600 euros today and two bottles of whiskey for the trademark.
The Adidas emblem had three parallel stripes by the early 1970s. As a result of the 1971 rebranding process, the corporation debuted a redesigned trefoil insignia. The public first saw a new logo version in 1991: three angled stripes symbolizing a mountain. The Adidas logo, as we know it now, was in existence in the early 2000s and consists of a circle intersected by three curving lines.
More Information
Adidas initially introduced stripes to its running shoes in order to make them more durable. By the way, Jesse Owens won the Olympics in 1933 while wearing Adidas sneakers.
The stripes on the trefoil emblem represent the company’s emphasis on diversity, while the three trefoil leaves represent the three regions of the world where its products are available (North America, Europe, and Asia).
The mountain-shaped emblem represents overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals no matter what. The spherical logo represents the globe and quick response to changes.
Why Does Adidas Have Four Logos?
Adidas is unique in that it never abandons older versions of its logos. All four are useful in the clothing company in various product lines and collections. Let’s take a brief look at how the many logos in the Adidas family coexist.
#1. There Are Three Parallel Stripes
It’s a timeless symbol that can be visible across all product lines. It is not an exaggeration to state that Adidas’ branding is should be of construction around the three-striped emblem.
#2. Trefoil
This variation, along with the three-striped pattern, is useful for the Originals product line (casual apparel and shoes).
#3. Mountain
The mountain insignia is an excellent choice for the Performance brand, whose purpose is for elite athletes.
#4. Circle
However, this version can be visible in style collections in partnership with popular designers.
Adidas’s Branding Secret
Despite ongoing evolution, the Adidas brand remains true to its roots. Because of this uniformity, we can recognize the Adidas logo in any variant. The success of the Adidas brand identity is based on four fundamental principles:
- The design is straightforward. Adidas emblems are very simple and straightforward. The text and graphics are both easy to read.
- Versatility. Although black is Adidas’ principal corporate color, the company’s color palette differs between product lines. The iconic logo has changed color over time, becoming white, red, and even bright green.
- A powerful message. Adidas cleverly uses its logo to represent characteristics like quality, strength, and perseverance.
- Awareness. Many famous athletes and celebrities, like Beyonce, Kylie Jenner, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Muhammad Ali, trust the Adidas brand. By wearing Adidas to public events, they raise the brand’s profile among current and potential customers.
The Meaning of the Adidas Logo
Each of the Adidas emblems has a different meaning:
- The Trefoil Logo – While the three stripes are still to date, this is because the three-leaf shape had to reflect the major landmasses of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The connecting lines across the three leaves represent diversity.
- The Standard Logo – In the shape of a mountain, it reflects the difficulties that athletes must endure. Adidas says its emblem symbolizes overcoming challenges and achieving goals.
- The Word-Mark Logo – The Adidas word-mark logo, which has been in use since 2005, is all about simplicity. The word-mark logo represents leadership and future adaptability. Most Adidas goods have it.
What Do the 3 Stripes on Adidas Mean?
The origin of the three stripes The two stripes embroidered on the sides of the Dassler brothers’ cleats inspired the iconic three stripes on Adidas shoes. The stripes protected the shoe’s construction while also representing the brothers’ partnership. The three stripes of the Adidas logo symbolize a mountain, indicating the struggles and objectives that people must face.
Adolf Dassler has the intention to keep the stripes as a defining characteristic of the Adidas design, but he couldn’t utilize the family brand emblem. As a result, the entrepreneur opted to add a third stripe. It was vital to color the stripes so they could be visible from the stands.
The Finnish sports manufacturer Karhu had to use Dassler’s idea to build its sneakers with three stripes. That didn’t deter Adolf, who bought the three stripes rights from Karhu for two whisky bottles.
What Does the Adidas Logo Symbolize?
The trefoil emblem helped Adidas transcend the sporting arena and pervade every part of popular culture. Whether it’s the Adidas tagline “Unattainable is nothing” or “Adidas is all in,’ the message is clear: Adidas also takes part in assisting athletes in achieving all of their goals, even those that appear impossible, to begin with.
The performance logo was more conceiving by creative director Peter Moore in 1990 for the Equipment brand of athletic gear. The three stripes are reminiscent of those seen on early Adidas sports shoes, but they also resemble the contour of a mountain, symbolizing the difficulties that athletes encounter.
Why Does Adidas Have 2 Logos?
Rather than changing its emblem permanently, Adidas has incorporated new logos. The trefoil emblem appears on Adidas Originals products, whereas the mountain logo appears on tech or sports-related products.
What Is the Real Logo of Adidas?
When the company began producing apparel in 1971, it modified its logo form to the now-iconic trefoil. This trefoil logo consists of three football shapes that are in a curved pattern at the bottom.
What Is the Adidas Slogan?
Among its branding triumphs is the development of the Adidas tagline “Impossible Is Nothing.” Its current motto is “Adidas Lives its Slogan, Impossible Is Nothing, with 3-D Printed Sneakers – Technology and Operations Management.”
What Are Adidas Stripes Called?
“Three stripes” is an Adidas trademark consisting of three parallel lines that appear on the side of Adidas garments. However, in the early days of Adidas, it was for its logo, with its owner, Adolf Dassler, referring to it as “The three stripe firm.”
Did Adidas Always Have 3 Stripes?
Adolf Dassler obtained the renowned three stripes brand from Finnish footwear producer Karhu Sports in the 1940s. Due to financial difficulties caused by WWII, the owner sold it to Adolf for two bottles of whiskey and $1,400. The typography was all that remained of the former logo by 1950. From the beginning of Adidas logo history until now, it has undoubtedly been the 3-Stripes. The world-famous trademark has come to represent high-quality sporting goods.
What Is Adidas Best Known For?
Adidas aspires to be the world’s leading athletic brand. As a result, everything they do is based on sports. According to Adidas, their brand logo “has been the best, seen on new brands as well as with the world’s finest athletes, teams, and tournaments.”
Adidas, full title Adidas AG, is a German maker of athletic shoes, clothing, and sports events items. In the early twenty-first century, it was Europe’s largest sportswear producer and the world’s second-largest (after Nike).
Conclusion
Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler founded his company in 1924, registered its name in 1949, and began using three stripes to identify its footwear in 1967. But it wasn’t until 1971, with the introduction of the trefoil logo, that Adidas created a logo that would become renowned. Adidas is among the best sporting, clothing, and shoe products to use.
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