Behind the Logo is an original recurring series from Highsnobiety, exploring the history, design, and evolution of the biggest trademarks in the industry. This episode delves into adidas’ iconic Three Stripe logo and how it became the instantly recognizable emblem it is today.
Since its establishment in 1948, PUMA has become one of the most prominent sport and lifestyle brands in the world. Most recently, the German company has found fresh success by recruiting a number of entertainers as ambassadors and collaborators, including Rihanna, Big Sean, and Selena Gomez. Here, however, we're focusing on the origins of the brand's iconic logo.
PUMA's original logo featured a puma cat leaping through a capital "D," which stood for Dassler as a nod to brand founder Rudolf Dassler. The motif was updated in 1957 with the addition of the word "PUMA" underneath the cat. A year later, the words "Rudolf," "Dassler," and "Schuhfabrik" (shoe factory) were added to the design.
In 1968, the logo was stripped down to feature a leaping puma with no border or text, and two years later, the design was refined once again, this time by cartoonist Lutz Backes. Following experiments with two different fonts in the mid-’70s, PUMA settled on the uppercase script that remains to this day, adding the silhouette of a puma leaping over the upper-right corner of the text. This design from 1979 remains largely untouched to this day.
For a more detailed history of PUMA's iconic emblem, hit play on the video above.
Next, dive into the origins of the Nike Swoosh and adidas Three Stripes.
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