Vans is a company that is mainly dedicated to the manufacture of footwear and clothing such as sweatshirts or t-shirts. Its target audience is focused on the skater community, in addition to other urban sports. The company's logo dates back to the company's beginnings when it was just an equipment store in schools in the United States. It wasn't until the 70s that the company's first logo was created.
Today, there are many different designs of the famous Old Skool shoes. But initially only three models of sneakers had been created: blue, red and gold. Unlike the Vans logo, this one has remained almost unchanged since its inception. Today we tell you the history of the Vans logo.
History and meaning of the Vans logo
Vans is a brand of footwear and sportswear that triumphs among young people and athletes. The secret of its popularity lies in its brand philosophy, as it is focused on people who lead an active lifestyle, such as skateboarders. This company has been operating since 1966. The name comes from the founder Paul Van Doren himself. Originally Van Doren, made sailing shoes. What made it catch the attention of the skater community, since they were of very good quality and combined very well with other clothing. It was then that the brand began to grow exponentially.
The first Vans shoes only contained the brand name as a logo, this version lasted more than 50 years, until 2016 when it was updated commemorating its 50 years on the market. The Vans logo was designed by a 13-year-old boy named Mark Van Doren, he was the son of one of the founders.. The idea came about when he made a stencil to paint on skateboards. His father, seeing what he had done, realized the graphic he had created, and placed it on the heel of a shoe. Later, it would be when the owner of the company would decide to dedicate himself entirely to the manufacture of skate shoes.
Paul's idea was to create a modern silhouette, taking inspiration from the Converse Chuck Taylor. They wanted to create a type of shoe that would not slip and would grip well on all types of surfaces. The first models were only $2.49 and $4.99.
The literal translation of the logo comes from the word «Furgonetas«. The logo encloses in a “V”, the letters “A”, “N” and “S”, as if it were a square root. What makes it the most remarkable visual element of the brand. To better understand the history of the emblem, you have to go back to the 70s. Two skaters, Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta had an argument. The first celebrated that he had managed to turn against a wall and fly through the air. A guy who was there named Skip Engblom literally said, "Man, you just came out of the wall."
Logo font and color
The skateboard drawing was not used for a long time. It received the name of turtle, since its shape resembled that of the shell of an animal. In the end in 2016, they chose to eliminate the skateboard symbol and leave only the text with the emblem. Shoes that were made in the 60s had a white tag with a blue inscription. In 2016 they opted for the color red for the background and white for the typography. Red symbolizes energy and passion. While white has a connotation of tranquility and purity. These colors are usually used to create the purchase need in the consumer. Below the logo is the "Off the Wall" emblem.
Initially, the letters of the logo were not the same, but the designers ended up creating a symmetry. The typeface used in the Vans logo is a modified version of the Helvetica font.. All letters are capitalized, forming right angles. Currently, the Vans logo is one of the most recognized and prominent in the footwear industry worldwide.
vans graphic
What also makes this company recognizable are mostly the graphic elements that accompany the different shoe models, one of them is known as "Jazz Stripe". In its beginnings it began as a doodle, but it ended up being a registered trademark of the company. Another notable element is its checkered pattern that several of its sneaker models have, something that many other brands have tried to imitate. It is also said that the geometric pattern that the Vans sole has comes from the famous “Star of David”, one of the quintessential Jewish symbols, but this is just a rumor.
If you liked this post and you like to know the history of the best-known logos, here is the link to another article in which I tell you the story about the famous Amazon logo.
