Why can’t you find the jumping Michael logo on all Jordan models?

Nike Jordan sneakers have been very popular in recent decades, so many people have noticed the logos with the figure of an athlete and a ball with wings. Let’s talk about how these trademarks were created and what problems Nike had due to copyright infringement.

How was the Jumpman logo created?

In 1984 Michael Jordan participated in a photo shoot for the American Life magazine before the Olympics in Los Angeles. Then still a student of the University of North Carolina, Michael found himself in the lens of photographer Jacobus Rentmeister, who created a photo report with the participation of American athletes.

In one of the shots, Jacobus captured his legendary pose – a leap for a basketball, which is known in the sport as a grand jete. But there was one nuance: Jordan was wearing New Balance basketball sneakers, not Nike, during the photo shoot.

In 1985, the basketball player signed a contract with Nike, and after his first named model of sneakers came out. The brand wanted to create a distinctive logo for Michael’s collection and decided that the pose from the magazine photo would be perfect for that. But copyright law and the presence of another brand’s sneakers in the photo complicated the procedure.

In the same year, Jordan was photographed in this pose again, only on his feet were already name sneakers from Nike. Rentmeister brand paid $ 15 thousand for the right to use color deposits with his photo. And for many years the photographer was satisfied with everything, but in 2015 he decided to sue the brand. Jacobus failed to prove copyright infringement, the court repeatedly rejected his claims.

The company tried adding the Jordan inscription at the bottom of the logo, but soon the inscription was removed.

Who came up with Wings and under what circumstances?

However, the Jumpman logo was first used only in a model that was released in 1987. The first sneaker models used the Wings logo, which means wings. It is still there today on the Jordan Brand retromodels. The basketball with wings was invented by Peter Moore and Rob Strasser. After meeting with Michael Jordan’s manager and deciding on further cooperation, they named the line of Air Jordan sneakers. And then they drew the ball with wings.

One event preceded it: Peter and Rob were flying on an airplane, where the stewardess gave the child plastic wings. Moore asked for the same wings for him. Redrawing them on a napkin, he unconsciously added a basketball to them. That’s how the second logo came to be.

“It’s a symbol of flight, it was part of Michael’s magic.
and obviously the Air Jordan 1.”

However, it’s not just the logos that make this brand recognizable: for most of his career, Michael Jordan performed under the number 23, which is traditionally embroidered on the brand’s sneaker parts. Another signature design of the brand is the Elephant Print.

In 1987, the legendary American designer Tinker Hatfield designed the third model of Jordan sneakers, which are considered one of the best to this day. These are the first sneakers that used the famous Elephant Print. “Elephant” print is still used in production today. It is a color combination that looks like the coloring of an elephant in an approximation.