Logos have a pivotal role to play in any brand’s identity. It’s that visual element helping in developing a “quick recognition factor” for the brand in the minds of the audience.
The leading sportswear company, Adidas is no exception. Like its slogans, the Adidas logo has developed a global brand identity in the 75 years of its existence. However, the logo that we see today was not always the same. It has gone through several design modifications depending on brand and industry requirements through 7 decades.
Let’s dive deep into the logo history of the brand and understand the role it played to make Adidas what it is today!
Adidas – A Short History
The third-largest sportswear brand in the world with a market capitalization of $44.9 billion started in a washroom in Germany. Yes, you read that right! Soon after World War I, Adolf Dassler started designing sports shoes in the washroom of their house. When his brother, Rudolf, joined him in the craft, they named their brand, Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory, which was the predecessor of Adidas.
During the 1936 Summer Olympics, Dassler somehow convinced Jesse Owens, the sprinter, to wear his shoes. Owens won four gold medals that year, thus making the Dassler shoes a hit. Today, the brand supplies its wide range of professionally-designed sports footwear and other equipment to NFL, NBA, etc., besides being a worldwide supplier of consumer sports shoes. Its headquarters are still based in Bavaria, Germany, where it first began.
However, everything didn’t go smoothly for Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory or ADIDAS. Allegedly, when the second World War broke out, the German government called Rudolf to serve in the war, while Adolf was allowed to continue designing shoes. This created a rift between the two brothers, and it never got back to what it was. After the great war, Rudolf split from his brother and created his brand, Ruda, which later became PUMA. And Adolf used his acronym, Adi, to register his brand of sports shoes, renaming it as Adidas. Thus, two separate brands of sports shoes were born in 1947, and both went on to become global hits.
The earliest logos of Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory
It won’t be wrong to say that this logo was a family emblem, depicting the unity of the two brothers, Adolf and Rudolf. As you can see in the image, the logo didn’t have any bar or stripe – just a large-winged bird carrying a shoe in its beak.
It was a representation of the cobbler brothers’ family business, symbolized by the bird, which is known to be a family-oriented creature. The logo also depicted perseverance of an athlete, symbolized by the bird carrying the heavy shoe in its beak.
However, this too wasn’t the earliest logo of the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. The winged bird carrying a shoe was the second logo of the Dassler brothers’ brand from 1938 to 1949. The first one (1931-1938) had only a winged shoe in the middle of a shield, similar to the one in the latter logo, with the name “Dassler” printed prominently above. The wings depicted speed, a significant quality of the Dassler sports shoes.
The First-Ever Logo of Adidas (1949-1950)
After the split in 1947, Adolf renamed his brand to Adidas and developed the first logo of his brand. It had his full name at the top, and “Sportschuhe” (meaning, sports shoe) at the bottom, with a sports shoe in the middle. The shoe was placed on a graphical track formed by the elongated tails of the two ‘d’s of Adidas. It also had field spikes, representing the attention to details.
This Adidas logo, however, was live only for a short period (1949-1950). The latter designs were similar to the current logo of the brand.
Evolution of the Adidas Logo (1950-2024)
The next 74 years of the Adidas logo saw several changes in design and modification, stripes and bars, ultimately becoming the global icon of today. Let’s go down the memory lane to understand the evolution of the brand’s logo in detail.
1950 – 1967
By then, the brand had made some amazing progress as a sports shoe seller. Adolf Dassler revised the complicated graphical logo into something simpler and more recognizable. The shoe was dropped from the image, and the 1950s logo portrayed the brand name on a black backdrop. The font was slightly emboldened for a greater emphasis.
1967 – 1971
The wordmark Adidas logo of the 50s was improvised a bit here. The black backdrop was dropped to make the logo appear simpler. The ‘s’ of ‘adidas’ had longer ends, and the dot of ‘I’ was replaced by a tiny square. It was this design that stayed on all products of Adidas till 1971, when the stripes were first created.
The Striped Adidas Logo of 1971-Present
It was the year when the characteristic stripes of Adidas were first introduced in its logo, also known as the Trefoil. It consists of three black lobes, placed in the form of the three petals of a flower, with three stripes in the middle. The brand name is added at the bottom of the lobes, creating a beautiful visual representation of the sportswear company. The lobes allegedly stand for the diversity of the brand, which ventures into other products besides sports shoes.
The striped Adidas logo is a global icon, representing the brand perfectly. You can still find this logo on some of the products from the Adidas Originals line.
1991 – Present: Adidas Mountain Logo
The Adidas logo of 1991, also known as the ‘mountain’ logo, is almost the same as the one we see today. The three stripes are emboldened and darkened to give weight to the emblem. They are also rotated at an angle, exactly as the current logo. This logo was originally created for the Adidas Equipment range of products, but is also visible on Performance Line products.
2002 – Present
There were two distinct, striped Adidas logos during this period. One was created in 2002, and the other one in 2005.
The first logo has lighter stripes across a black circle and is seen on the Adidas Style range of products. The second one, used on all other products of the brand, has three parallel black stripes placed at the left side of the brand name.
The Current Adidas Logo : 2022 – Present
The current Adidas logo is the reinstated form of the 1991 logo of the brand. The diagonally-placed stripes are now recognizable throughout the globe, even without the brand name. And yes! This logo, unlike its previous version, does not feature the brand name at the bottom.
The minimalist design of the present Adidas logo, also known as the Performance Logo, allegedly depicts strength, unity, and perseverance, the three main characteristics of the brand. The bar is shortest at the left, gradually increasing in height towards the right. It’s a rendition of the classic striped logo with a simple and sleek aesthetic.
Note: Adidas uses all three logos (Trefoil, Three Stripes, Performance Logo) to this day on its range of different products. Each maintains the brand’s heritage, mission and values, offering unique identities for its line of products.
Is the Adidas Logo a Wordmark or an Abstract Logo?
What type of logo is Adidas? To answer this, we need to understand the 17 different types of logos, namely, Wordmark, Abstract, Monogram, Symbol, Mascot, Emblem, Combination Mark, etc. Each has distinct properties, which help the brands develop their unique visual identities.
The earliest logos of the brand, i.e., before the split, can be categorized into Brand Mark logos, with the image of the sports shoe as the mark of shoe-selling company. But the latter versions of the logo, till 1971, fall under Wordmark Logos. After 1971, i.e., with the introduction of the stripes, the Adidas logo officially became a Combination Mark logo with both Wordmark and a symbol to depict the brand’s identity.
The current Adidas logo, however, is an Abstract logo with only the stripes to act as a symbol for the global sports brand.
Significance of the Stripes in the Adidas Logo
The three characteristic stripes of the Adidas logos have a global acceptance. According to the experts, these three bars depict the three main qualities of the brand – Strength, Unity, and Perseverance. Each stripe stands for the company’s commitment towards developing long-lasting, quality sports equipment for its customers. Also, the three stripes appear in the form of a mountain, highlighting the brand’s consistent progress, dedication towards excellence, and innovative approaches through all the years.
Features of the Adidas Logo – Font, Color, Design Elements
The monochromatic Adidas logo is not the only version of the brand’s visual identity. While the font remains almost the same over the years, colors and other design elements vary based on the line of products. Here’s a gist!
| Font | Color | Design Elements |
| Since the brand’s inception, the characteristic ‘adidas’ font has been the ITC Avant Garde Gothic in lowercase. However, in some versions of the logo, the Adineue PRO typeface has also been used. | The Adidas Logo generally appears in black and white – Black stripes on White background and vice-versa. However, on some line of products, like the Originals, the logo appears in blue. The brand also uses the seven shades of the rainbow, also known as accent colors on some of its distinct product logos. | There are three distinct designs of the Adidas Logo: The Trefoil – Three lobes joining at the bottom like petals of a flowerThe Striped Mountain – The current Adidas logo with three bars rotated at 30-degree to form a mountain-like structureThe Striped Circle – A black circle with white stripes in the middle. The stripes, however, are consistent in all the designs, creating the key visual identity of the global brand. |
How Popular is the Adidas Logo?
One of the main reasons for the popularity of the Adidas logo is its minimalist design with no complex graphics or typeface. The iconic stripes create a simplistic appearance that’s easily noticed and recognized. However, the three stripes are unique and stand out, just like the ‘swoosh’ in the Nike logo.
Besides being widely acknowledged by sports enthusiasts across the globe, the brand’s logo is also quite popular in American pop culture. It was adorned by notable names, like The Doors, David Bowie, The Sex Pistols, and even Bob Marley.
Who Designed the Iconic Adidas Logo?
The first-ever Adidas logo with the shoe on a track was designed by none other than Adolf Dassler, the founder of the company.
The three-striped logo was officially taken from Karhu Sports, a Dutch athletic shoes company. The company sold its characteristic three-stripes trademark to Adidas in 1952.
In 1997, the iconic three-striped Adidas mountain logo was designed by Peter Moore, who was the Creative Director at the company then. It’s also known in the branding world as the ‘Three Bars Adidas Logo’.
A Few Interesting Facts about the Adidas Logo
Over the years, Adidas has maintained consistency in its brand identity, characterized by the three stripes, or bars. There are some interesting facts about the iconic Adidas logo, which we feel that you should know. So here goes:
- The three stripes was not the original design element of Adidas’ predecessor – Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. Instead, it was a winged bird, carrying a sports shoe in its beak. An impossible scenario, true, but the image itself depicted the theme of Adidas shoes – strength, unity and athletic perseverance.
- Due to excessive financial losses in World War II, the dutch sports gear company, Karhu Sports, sold its iconic three-stripes trademark to Adidas for €1,600 and two bottles of the finest whiskey.
- Jesse Owens was the first sportsman to endorse Adidas (then Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) sneakers in the Summer Olympics of 1936. On winning four gold medals, Owens contributed to the success of the shoes that became a major hit in the sports world.
- The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) denied the company usage of the three parallel lines Adidas logo in 2016 after officially registering it in 2014. According to the EUIPO, the lines looked pretty common and not exclusive.
- The Trefoil logo was created during the 1972 Olympics in Berlin. It was also called ‘Clover’ because of its shape and was used on Adidas’ Originals line of products.
- Adidas took $305 million as compensation from a company – Payless ShoeSource – that sold its shoes with similar slanted stripes. When Adidas expressed its objection to using its trademark, the company made some changes to the design and started using four straight stripes, instead of the oblique ones. Nevertheless, Adidas appealed against the company in an Oregon court, which then made the latter pay a compensation fee.
Over to You
The iconic three stripes in the Adidas logo didn’t come into existence before the 70s. Earlier, it was just a shoe on a track, representing the main product of the company. With Adidas expanding its line of products and venturing into other kinds of sports gear, its visual identity also went through subtle and distinctive changes, introducing the characteristic three stripes in the 70s.
Till today, the three stripes is the globally-accepted visual identity of Adidas, the third-largest athleisure company in the world. It’s interesting to note that the three-striped trademark of the brand originally belonged to a Dutch sportswear company that sold the same to Adidas in 1952.
It’s okay to wonder what made the Adidas logo so famous. Well, the distinctive stripes, simplistic design outlook and consistency over the years stand for its global acceptance. While the stripes depict the brand’s core values, that are strength, unity and perseverance, the minimalist design enhances its simplicity and modesty – the two key ingredients of a lasting visual identity.