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New Balance, a late logo designed by a great name

  • Photo du rédacteur: Audrey Deshons
    Audrey Deshons
  • 6 nov. 2020
  • 3 min de lecture

Dernière mise à jour : 28 nov. 2020


According to the online blog Heddels, the original product – the arch support - and the name New Balance were inspired by the physiognomy of the chicken feet that William Riley used to observe in his backyard. There are 3 points of support, and they offer, according to him, a perfect balance that he tried to reproduce for a long time.

It is only in 1926 that the first New Balance pair of shoes was produced thanks to the solicitation of budding athletes loving their products and asking for sneakers.

1972 is the year of the first logo. It is surprising because, although existing since 1906, the brand had never had its logo, giving it an incomplete brand image. Then began its evolution until the 2000s.


The evolution of the logo


New Balance, at first called New Balance Arch Support Company The first version of the logo was used from 1972 to 2000. Choosing to use the initials of the brand name was a way to refer to its original name: New Balance Arch Support Company.

The goal was to give a dynamic and sporty image of the brand. To do so, the “N” of the logo was given 12-speed marks. The movement forward of the letters symbolized movement and running, to attract track athletes.


Slight changes were done to make the logo more readable from 2006 to 2008. The designers gave 7-speed marks to the “N” instead of 12, but what was more important was the logo going from black to red. The goal was to represent the emphasis of energy, brightness, emotional and physical surge given by the specialized sneakers of the brand.


Once the brand was recognized as one of the best sneakers brands and well established, they decided in 2008 to soften the logo by choosing a scarlet red for the letters and got rid of the aggressive brightness of the red. They also looked for a more minimalist design as they removed some speed marks again To have only 5 of them remaining.


In 2008, they chose to soften the logo by choosing a scarlet red for the letters and got rid of the agressive brightness of the red.

Who is the designer ?


What if I asked you what Starbucks, Panera Bread, and New balance have in common? Well, their logo was designed by the same person: Terry Heckler.

This designer worked with a lot of brands and has his own business of branding: Heckler Branding. From brand names to corporate identity, he specialized in the process of building a unique strategy for every brand he works with.

He even made a collaboration with New Balance for the release of New Balance 990v4. He was the center of the communication campaign of the latest version of the first model the brand ever released.

This action was to honor him because he also helped design the "N" we will be able to see on every pair of shoes. The goal was to make it readable and more importantly recognizable when seeing these shoes on the street. There was not enough space for both the “N” and the “B” so they got rid of the second, making the ”N” stay and starting to be the image of the brand on the shoe.

Thus, if New Balance is as known today, it is partly because of Terry Heckler. Helping the brand image through the logo is a key point to their fame. But the logo is not the only element mandatory for the development of the brand strategy. And you will be able to read about it in other articles coming soon!




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