Founded in 1908, Converse was one of the only companies that produced athletic shoes for decades. The company has managed to survive through style trends and economic downturns due to their devoted fan base. The signature Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes have the unique fame of being one of the only shoe models to remain consistently stylish for several decades. They remain recognizable by the canvas construction and the round Converse logo.
However, Converse’s star logo is iconic to both sneaker enthusiasts and the average consumer. This article will tell you about the rich history behind the Converse brand.
Converse Logo Design Elements
Th Converse logo design consists of two key elements. It is a stylistic design with the name of the brand written beneath it. The modern incarnation of this logo uses a simple circle and star device. It shows a thick black line outlining a white circle, and in the interior of the circle is a five pointed star. To avoid looking too busy, the star is just a bold silhouette drawn completely in black.
Beneath the circle and star image is the word “Converse,” written in a unique font.
Changes and Evolution
1. Shape
When it first started out, the Converse logo was the brand’s name, but marketing experts realized it would be beneficial to create something unique. In 1932, they created the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star basketball shoes. To reference this shoe, a single five-pointed star appeared in front of the basic Converse brand name logo. This star and brand name logo remained consistent until the 70s when Jim Labadini designed a version that had a five-pointed star to the left of a thick chevron featured above the word “Converse.”
This was then simplified by removing the chevron and placing the star inside of the “O” in “Converse.”
The final alteration to the logo was to move the star back to the top of the logo and place it in a circle.
2. Color
Most versions of the Converse logo have been a basic black on white design. This simple color scheme does not distract from the brand name, and it looks equally well on a variety of shoe designs and color schemes.
3. Font
Since the 30s, the Converse font has always used a san serif, capitalized font to look bold and streamlined. In the 1970s, this font underwent an alteration from a rather generic font to the signature Converse font. Unlike previous iterations of the logo font, the modern font is custom designed and has squared off shapes with rounded edges.
Influences/Inspiration
Almost all of Converse’s logos have been a reference to their most popular shoe model. First created in 1921, the All-Star shoes were a lightweight, high-top canvas basketball shoe with a circular patch to protect the ankle. The spokesman team for the shoes was the Converse All-Star basketball team, so the ankle patch contained a star.
Eventually, Converse recognized that the round All-Star ankle patch was the image most associated with their brand. After years of using various star and chevron motifs with Labadini’s font, the company decided to finalize their logo as a simplified version of the All-Star ankle patch.
Trivia
The Converse logo did not show up on shoes during World War II because the company was busy creating rubberized protective outerwear for the military. Many people mistakenly assume that the brand logo is All-Star shoe patch. Though similar, this is technically the Chuck Taylor All Star logo, and it is more colorful and detailed.
Nike also produces Converse shoes, but they retain the trademark star logo instead of the Nike swoosh.
According to the brand, 60 percent of all Americans have owned a pair of All-Stars before.
Conclusion
The simple design and comfortable fit of Converse shoes has ensured that they remain iconic. That was even as trends and tastes change. All versions of the Converse logo reference this proud past. The star logo that pays homage to Converse’s beginnings as a basketball shoe. Even though the brand is now owned by another company, the star logo is still highly sought after in many fashion subcultures.
Thanks for mentioning me in your article, it was a lot of fun designing the star and chevron design. I have a lot more that were never used unfortunately.
Jim labadini