Carolyn Davidson- very few people know who she is but the great majority of us are familiar with her work, at least one example. One of her creations would become nothing short of an international icon, easily one of the most recognizeable symbols in the world.
While a graphic design student in the early 70's, Carolyn was approached by an instructor at the university she was attending and asked to create a company logo. Getting paid at the rate of $2 / hour, she charged the gentleman $35 for the design. His response was 'I don't love it but maybe it will grow on me' and did use the logo for his start- up company's logo. Carolyn continued to work for this new company unitl 1983 at which time the founder had a party for her and gave her a diamond ring like the very logo she designed years earlier. At this party he mentioned that while he did agree to pay her that hourly rate, he never thought she would spend 17 1/2 hours on the job. As a token of appreciation, he presented her with a diamond ring engraved with the very logo she created, and 500 shares of company stock; the stock was worth around $1 / share at that time but Davidson held onto the stock through the its ups and downs as well as stock splits; today those shares have become 8,000, and at a price of $100 each, worth well over 3/4 of a million dollars. A nice gesture on the part of the company, and fitting payment for services rendered in my opinion.
The founder's name is Phil Knight.
The company's name is Nike.
The Logo is called the Nike 'swoosh', and this is a photo of Carolyn Davidson and her logo.
Photo courtesy of the UK daily Mail
Brian