by Frieke Severs – Independent graduation project at Nike EMEA

Abebe Bikila (August 7^th, 1932 – October 25^th, 1973) was a two-time Olympic marathon champion from Ethiopia. In “Rome 1960” the shoe sponsor had few pairs left when Bikila went to try them out and he ended up with a pair that didn’t fit comfortably, so he couldn’t use them. A couple of hours before the race, the Ethiopian marathonist decided to compete barefoot, the way he had trained for the race. Moral of the story: he was the first black African in history to win a gold medal in the Olympics. Four years later, he repeated his heroic accomplishment at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. (mais…)

Nike Hindsight by Billy May

Winner of a 2009 Red Dot Design Award and conceived by the NewYork-based designer, Billy May, the Nike Hindsight is, put simply, like giving bicyclists a pair of bifocals for their peripheral vision. By using Fresnel lenses on the sides of this ingenious eye wear, riders can detect motion in a field of view beyond the normal human limit of 180º, an extra 25º of view on both side. (mais…)

“Portraying a country in the shape of a man heading a ball is a new idea with potent symbolism. For me, football is all about emotion and passion, which is why I was particularly attracted to this poster”. With this words, the FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter, explained his impressions about the official 2010 FIFA World Cup poster. Designed by the South African agency Switch, that also created the 2010 FIFA World Cup emblem, the work exalts the pride of a whole continent.

From the first Official World Cup poster, released in 1930, designed by the uruguayan artist Guillermo Laborde, to emblems and mascots, it´s possible to “travel” and to perceive the periods, contexts and features of the countries that hosted the tournament during its eighty years of existence.

Ke Nako – It´s Time

(mais…)