New Balance got its start as a humble arch support company in 1906. For the next 50 years, the company just sold shoe accessories, but they decided to start creating entire shoes in 1960. Though these shoes quickly became popular among athletes, the public was not aware of them until the company was bought by Jim Davis.
Davis launched an ad campaign and created a logo, and New Balance became a global company. In modern times, they are one of the most popular brands for casual sports enthusiasts. Keep reading to find out the history of the New Balance logo design.
New Balance Logo Design Elements
The New Balance logo has a stylized version of the brand’s initials at the top of the logo. The N and the B are so close together that they become one fluid shape. Five horizontal triangles of empty space cut across the N and narrow before they hit the B. These triangles are called “speed marks” by the brand. The initials are drawn in a cool red town on a transparent background.
The same color shade is used for the lower part of the logo. This logo element just says “new balance” in lower case letters that are centered beneath the NB design. The letters are written in an extremely circular, san-serif font that is a modified version of the ITC Avant Garde Gothic Demibold font.
Changes and Evolution
1. Shape
New Balance did not even have a logo until 1972 when it was created by Terry Heckler. This logo looked remarkably similar to the modern day version other than one key difference. At first, the logo had twelve speed marks slashed across the N. This number was lowered to just 7 speed marks, and then it was eventually reduced to the 5 that are used for the current logo.
2. Color
The original NewBalance logo was a black on white design. This has been officially updated to a red design that is a little bolder, but that is not the only color used for the logo. When it is added on New Balance shoes, the logo is depicted in colors that fit the shoes’ design scheme. If the logo is placed on soles of shoes, the company just imprints the logo into the rubber without adding its signature red color.
3. Font
Over the years, New Balance’s logo has not altered its font at all. This consistent logo element helps to reassure nostalgic buyers that New Balance’s key focus on comfort remains the same.
Influences/Inspiration
The main inspiration behind the design for the New Balance logo was a desire to emphasize both speed and the company’s long history of shoe design. Using the initials of the brand name was a way to reference it’s origins as the “New Balance Arch Support Company” of 1906.
Once they decided to do a logo that was mainly initials, designers and marketing experts then decided to focus on creating a speedy look that would appeal to track athletes. The letters are angled forward to look like a sprinting athlete, and the angled dashes are commonly used by cartoonists to make objects look like they are moving quicker. The font used in the “new balance” portion of the logo is very similar to the font used by another sports shoe legend, Adidas.
Trivia
- New Balance’s logo is actually designed by the person responsible for the iconic Starbucks mermaid logo, the Panera Bread logo, and the Cinnabon logo.
- Logo designer Terry Heckler was not just responsible for the brand’s look. He’s also the one who encouraged the new company owner to keep the original name for the shoes.
- Chairman Jim Davis was so attached to the older version of the logo that it took designers years to convince him that it looked too busy.
Conclusion
The comfy feel and fun aesthetics of New Balance shoes have helped to ensure the brand’s popularity. People interested in sportswear fashion consider the N logo to be a status symbol. The simple design and bold graphics of the New Balance logo have helped to ensure its stability, and the logo is not going anywhere.
Leave a Reply