I love the story of Nike SB- skateboarding, and today, almost poetically, the world got to see the products Nike created for Olympic skateboarding athletes, an effort 24 years in the making.
When Nike first produced its own skate shoes in 1997, the market was strongly in favour of brands such as DC and Vans. In fact skaters considered Nike one of those big money hungry corporations. The effort failed and the shoes didn’t sell at all.
Nike attempted it again in the early 2000s. They focused on relating the brand’s voice authentically to the notoriously critical and finical skaters, and worked towards gaining trust from them. Long story short, Nike made a historic push and managed to complete yet another story of the underdog triumphing.
Honestly, when I looked at the design of these tees worn by the medalists of the skateboarding event, I didn’t think they looked pretty. And I knew the fact that I didn’t “get it” meant one thing- these tees were created with the skaters in mind. The graphics were meant to speak to them, represent them, not me.
More about the design: https://lnkd.in/gthhXm2
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