What began on a storied track at the University of Oregon where the innovation-obsessed Bill Bowerman tirelessly worked to create every advantage possible for his runners, has become a global sport movement to help athletes reach their full potential and find their greatness. Through a culture of continual progression we fuel performance with ground-breaking products, game-changing technologies and the stories that translate across all sports, regardless of whether they're playing on the biggest of global stages or on the neighborhood playground.
Creating the Look of China for 22 sport federations and 2,693 athletes at the 2008 games in Beijing was fueled by “The Warrior Within”, a blending of patriotism and sacrifice that has characterized Chinese heroes for centuries. 54 Nike designers in Beijing and the US utilized this vision to create an athlete-guided performance-based system that also obsessed how Chinese athletes would feel during their competition.
Everything was considered, from matching the red in each uniform to the exact red of the Chinese flag to placing the Chinese characters for “arise” and “march on'' taken from the national anthem, The March of the Volunteers, right over the chest inside the uniform. The inclusion of a unifying graphic with the symbol for China placed in the center, the pattern echoes the carvings on an ancient mask discovered together with terracotta warriors in the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang providing an additional sense of pride as athletes looked back and blazed forward to their most successful games to date.
The sportswear icon was built to celebrate the story of running through its ubiquitous 26.2 degree chevron—the distance of a marathon. While it began its journey of providing runners with a performance staple in the late 1970’s at track and field events, the Windrunner quickly became a platform for self expression, delivering the brand story to athletes around the world across all categories.
Team China Before any other country, including the United States, the Chinese National Track & Field Team was Nike’s first national team sponsorship. The 1984 Games in LA were a huge moment for both the Chinese Team and Nike, as both were stepping onto the global stage. In advance of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Nike invited the Chinese Track and Field Federation to train at Hayward field in Eugene, Oregon for a month to prepare for the games. For a month the Chinese athletes acclimated and trained on the same track where Nike legends like Steve Prefontaine ran. As part of Nike’s support each athlete was supported with Nike products including a Windrunner jacket. Zhu Jianhua, the current world record high jumper, would become the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic medal.
Room interiors along the open office area become an interconnected canvas for the story of game changing and barrier breaking Nike stories told through a collection of brand graphics.
The Nike World Basketball Festival focused on bringing players and fans together to celebrate and share the game through a global exchange of all things basketball in advance of the lead up to multiple key international events. The international super-star players and locations provided an opportunity to showcase Nike Basketball within a never before seen format intended to celebrate the diversity of player types and styles of play.
