Converse - Rebrand

Revival of the original American sports brand.

It seems hard to believe now, as it did then, but Converse faded out of existence amidst the great shoe battles of Nike, Adidas, Rebook and others. With new owners the task was to reposition and revive this historic brand and find a place for it to thrive in sports culture, and well, culture. I was fortunate to be a part of this team of many starting with writing the story of Chuck Taylor and leading into the Converse brand. I put the voice and experience into the smallest details like hangtags and product stories. My long time collaborator Steve Sandstrom and his team were the designers.

Squeak - The sound of rubber pivoting on hardwood. It’s the undeniable soundtrack of basketball. That sound was bork in the early 1900s when Converse not only invented the first rubber-soled “athletic” shoe - thereby revolutionizing the emerging sport of basketball - it created the very sound of the game itself. It was the company’s first burst of total originality. A landmark to which every athletic shoe company in existence today owes a debt.

Without Chuck Taylor, ® there would be no Converse®. It’s that simple. His redesign of the All Star® in the early ’20s was so significant, the company inscribed his signature right on the shoe. Month after month, decade after decade, this former pro player crisscrossed the country putting on basketball clinics in small towns and spreading his love and knowledge of the game (as well as his shoe) across America. And eventually around the world. He was the sport’s original pro endorser, but he was much, much more than that. Chuck Taylor was the Ambassador of Basketball. And his shoe is not only an inextricable part of the game itself. It’s the DNA of the Converse brand.