K Swiss launches new identity
Shoe brand K Swiss is rolling out a new identity which it says pays homage to its place as the only US heritage tennis brand.
The new look for K Swiss, which was founded in 1966, has been created by a newly appointed internal creative team.
The new identity sees the five stripes on the K Swiss shield retained, but the stripes now point upward at a 58° angle “to signify the brand’s momentum towards the future”, according to K Swiss.
The red, white and blue colourway has been updated with the introduction of the new “Brunner blue” shade. This is named after K Swiss founders Art and Ernie Brunner, and according to the brand it references the shade of blue found on US competitive tennis courts.
K Swiss says the typeface is based on the font used by the US Federal Highway Administration on interstate road signs, which was updated in 1966 – the year the brand was founded.
The angles in the letters “K” and “S” have been set at 58° angles, to align with the orientation of the stripes.
K Swiss chief marketing officer Barney Waters says: “We’ve managed to modernise the symbols while retaining the elements that have long-term equity, such as the colour combination and the shield.”
Thank goodness they fixed the pointing-down stripes.
It’s an improvement, but the shield looks unbalanced. The way the white line bisects the top-right corner disrupts the silhouette and the symmetry. I feel it would have looked stronger and more balanced with 3 coloured stripes instead of 5.
Might already be a ‘brand with the three stripes’ in the market though Jamie?