Humble Beginnings

Adi Dassler first began to fashion sports shoes in his mother’s laundry room after returning from World War 1. A true sports fanatic, the youth was constantly tinkering and tweaking his shoe designs for optimal performance, a driving force which would earn him instant recognition and immediate demand for his products. So he launched the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory in which his brother Rudolf would play a critical role. The three stripes weren’t even a glimmer in his eye yet. This was the company’s logo:

The Rise

Starting with tennis shoes and branching out into other sports, the industrious pair worked diligently to earn high profile contracts, eventually gaining worldwide recognition after multiple winners at the 1928 Olympic Games competed wearing their shoes. From that point on, there was nowhere to go but up and the company expanded to meet a rapidly growing demand. The Olympic games would continue to play a central role in their marketing initiatives, as more and more athletes took home medals sporting the company’s increasingly famous footwear.

A Feud Begins

With the 1930’s well underway both brothers joined the Nazi party. Rudolf was the more zealous of the two however, and the brothers would find themselves at odds more and more as the new regime grew in power. Rudolf was subsequently drafted in World War 2, while Adi would stay behind and produce shoes for the military. Eventually he would break from the Nazi party, further alienating his brother, who soon found himself captured by Americans. Details are sketchy as to the source of their dischord, but for whatever reason upon Rudolf’s return to Herzogenaurach, the two would never speak to each other again. The company was split into separate entities and the brothers parted ways for good.

Three Stripes

Realizing that he had serious competition, in his own town no less, Adi launched his own venture in 1951, dubbing it “Adidas” – a combination of his nickname and half of his surname. All he needed was a trademarked logo which he was more than happy to purchase from finnish sportswear label Karhu for today’s equivalent of $1800 and two bottles of whiskey. He managed to do so just in the nick of time it seems, for most people today have no idea that the iconic stripes once adorned a completely different brand.

Despite its simplicity, or perhaps because of it, Adi knew that this linear design would play the perfect protagonist for that valuable bit of advertising real estate on the sides of the shoes. This is where the logo would live in its current form. For all print/marketing purposes, a custom eblem was created using the familiar ITC Avant Garde Gothic font which has always represented the company’s clean, almost spartan aesthetic.

The three stripes are implied utilizing extended stems of the “d” s themselves to interact with an illustration of a shoe and Adi’s name crowning the emblem in a semi-circle. He was so completely sold on the shoe’s new brand that he often referred to his venture as the “Three Stripe Company”.

War & Cleats

On the other side of town Rudolf was also hard at work on his own footwear company. At first he followed Adi’s lead and tried to incorporate his name into the brand as “Ruda”, but this idea was quickly abandoned in favor of “Puma”, which you can read more about in History of the Puma Logo.

As both companies progressed, the family rivalry between the Dassler brothers reached a fever pitch. Some might even say it was this fire of competition that would forge both brands as major players in one of the most competitive fields. There were consequences however, as workers from both factories carried their rivalry outside the workplace. In many cases they were not permitted to mingle. This rift would not only change the face of the footwear industry, it would permeate the social fabric of the town for many years – a phenomenon explored in depth by Barbara Smit in her book “Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sport”

The Trefoil

With both brands seeking their respective footholds, Adi decided to up the ante in 1971, expanding into mainstream markets for leisure and casual wear. As part of this branching initiative, a trefoil logo was created. The icon was built from three radiating leaves with the now-ubiquitous three stripes running through the lower half of the emblem. They were a visual symbol of the company’s aspirations for growth in a rapidly shifting market.

The logo worked out so well, that it began to make appearances on their athletic products, raising the bar for their brand on pitches and in stadiums around the world. In many ways it’s the logo that helped catapult them into mainstream success. The trefoil was an integral part of popularizing the shell-toe Superstar editions, which would earn global infamy from Run DMC in their classic song “My Adidas”, a fashion statement with a it’s own history. This bridge into urban culture was the final one to cross for the brand, earning it a far bigger market share in America than before and securing its place as one of the world’s top sportswear brands.

Adidas Equipment aka “Three Bars”

Having established itself as a household name, the company sought out a new look in 1997 to accentuate its high performance line of products. For this design the three bars were staggered vertically then rotated 30 degrees, giving the overall impression of a mountain. This was an intentional design feature meant to highlight the company’s dedication towards helping people achieve more challenging feats with superior comfort and performance.

Much like its predecessor, this logo would enjoy widespread success, eventually beocoming the adopted standard across all apparel. The trefoil logo was relegated to the heritage line of products which continue to enjoy success to this day.

The Wordmark

In 2005 the company boiled down the logo to its most minimal incarnation to date – a simple wordmark in the classic font with the three bars placed horizontally alongside. Anyone who has bought a pair of Adidas in the last decade will no doubt recognize this logo from the branded packaging and boxes their products are sold in.

It proved itself to be a versatile design element, helping to further propagate the empire that Adi built. By this point Adidas had merged all its children companies into a conglomerate (The Adidas Group) which would become the umbrella company for other big names like Reebok and TaylorMade. The logo has the symbolic gravitas of a company which makes a tremendous effort to expand and stay current, without losing the connection to its roots.

The Truce

While the feud between the Dassler brothers would endure long after they both passed on, it would eventually fizzle out once the enterprise went public and family ownership was no longer an issue. The beef was officially squashed in September of 2009. In commemoration of UN’s World Peace Day, Puma CEO Jochen Zeitz decided to call Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer and organize a spirited, yet friendly soccer match. The game was a close one at 7-5 although each team was comprised of employees of both companies, to drive home the message of solidarity and peace.

Looking Forward

With a truce formally declared both companies continue to rival each other in the professional sphere as they always have. Except now they can drive each other towards innovation and success, unencumbered by bad blood and fueled only by the sport of friendly competition which has always unified their respective purposes. While we remain certain that Adidas will continue to reinvent itself there remains little doubt as to whether they will ever stray from the minimal essence of a brand that Just Works.

Fine Print Art is an educational independent research publication. The above content has not been officially sponsored by Adidas Group.

Source : https://www.fineprintart.com/the-history-of-the-adidas-logo/

Some people assert that these diets raise cholesterol and cause heart disease due to their high fat content.

However, in most scientific studies, low-carb diets prove their worth as healthy and beneficial.

Here are 10 proven health benefits of low-carb and ketogenic diets.

1. Low-Carb Diets Reduce Your Appetite
   Hunger tends to be the worst side effect of dieting.

It is one of the main reasons why many people feel miserable and eventually give up.

However, low-carb eating leads to an automatic reduction in appetite (1Trusted Source).

Studies consistently show that when people cut carbs and eat more protein and fat, they end up eating far fewer calories (1Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Studies indicate that cutting carbs can automatically reduce your appetite and calorie intake.

1. Low-Carb Diets Lead to More Weight Loss at First
   Cutting carbs is one of the simplest and most effective ways to lose weight.

Studies illustrate that people on low-carb diets lose more weight, faster, than those on low-fat diets — even when the latter are actively restricting calories.

This is because low-carb diets act to rid excess water from your body, lowering insulin levels and leading to rapid weight loss in the first week or two (2Trusted Source, 3).

In studies comparing low-carb and low-fat diets, people restricting their carbs sometimes lose 2–3 times as much weight — without being hungry (4, 5).

One study in obese adults found a low-carb diet particularly effective for up to six months, compared to a conventional weight loss diet. After that, the difference in weight loss between diets was insignificant (6Trusted Source).

In a year-long study in 609 overweight adults on low-fat or low-carb diets, both groups lost similar amounts of weight (7Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Almost without exception, low-carb diets lead to more short-term weight loss than low-fat diets. However, low-carb diets seem to lose their advantage in the long term.

1. A Greater Proportion of Fat Loss Comes From Your Abdominal Cavity
   Not all fat in your body is the same.

Where fat is stored determines how it affects your health and risk of disease.

The two main types are subcutaneous fat, which is under your skin, and visceral fat, which accumulates in your abdominal cavity and is typical for most overweight men.

Visceral fat tends to lodge around your organs. Excess visceral fat is associated with inflammation and insulin resistance — and may drive the metabolic dysfunction so common in the West today (8).

Low-carb diets are very effective at reducing this harmful abdominal fat. In fact, a greater proportion of the fat people lose on low-carb diets seems to come from the abdominal cavity (9Trusted Source).

Over time, this should lead to a drastically reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

SUMMARY
A large percentage of the fat lost on low-carb diets tends to be harmful abdominal fat that is known to cause serious metabolic problems.
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1. Triglycerides Tend to Drop Drastically
   Triglycerides are fat molecules that circulate in your bloodstream.

It is well known that high fasting triglycerides — levels in the blood after an overnight fast — are a strong heart disease risk factor (10).

One of the main drivers of elevated triglycerides in sedentary people is carb consumption — especially the simple sugar fructose (11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source).

When people cut carbs, they tend to experience a very dramatic reduction in blood triglycerides (14, 15Trusted Source).

On the other hand, low-fat diets often cause triglycerides to increase (16, 17Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Low-carb diets are very effective at lowering blood triglycerides, which are fat molecules that increase your risk of heart disease.

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1. Increased Levels of ‘Good’ HDL Cholesterol
   High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is often called the “good” cholesterol.

The higher your levels of HDL relative to “bad” LDL, the lower your risk of heart disease (18, 19, 20).

One of the best ways to increase “good” HDL levels is to eat fat — and low-carb diets include a lot of fat (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).

Therefore, it is unsurprising that HDL levels increase dramatically on healthy, low-carb diets, while they tend to increase only moderately or even decline on low-fat diets (24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Low-carb diets tend to be high in fat, which leads to an impressive increase in blood levels of “good” HDL cholesterol.

1. Reduced Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
   Low-carb and ketogenic diets can also be particularly helpful for people with diabetes and insulin resistance, which affect millions of people worldwide (29, 30).

Studies prove that cutting carbs lowers both blood sugar and insulin levels drastically (31, 32Trusted Source).

Some people with diabetes who begin a low-carb diet may need to reduce their insulin dosage by 50% almost immediately (33).

In one study in people with type 2 diabetes, 95% had reduced or eliminated their glucose-lowering medication within six months (34Trusted Source).

If you take blood sugar medication, talk to your doctor before making changes to your carb intake, as your dosage may need to be adjusted to prevent hypoglycemia.

SUMMARY
The best way to lower blood sugar and insulin levels is to reduce carb consumption, which may treat and possibly even reverse type 2 diabetes.

1. May Lower Blood Pressure
   Elevated blood pressure, or hypertension, is a significant risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.

Low-carb diets are an effective way to lower blood pressure, which should reduce your risk of these diseases and help you live longer (34Trusted Source, 35Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Cutting carbs leads to a significant reduction in blood pressure, which should reduce your risk of many common diseases.

1. Effective Against Metabolic Syndrome
   Metabolic syndrome is a condition highly associated with your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

In fact, metabolic syndrome is a collection of symptoms, which include:

Abdominal obesity
Elevated blood pressure
Elevated fasting blood sugar levels
High triglycerides
Low “good” HDL cholesterol levels
However, a low-carb diet is incredibly effective in treating all five of these symptoms (36, 37Trusted Source).

Under such a diet, these conditions are nearly eliminated.

SUMMARY
Healthy low-carb diets effectively reverse all five key symptoms of metabolic syndrome, a serious condition which increases your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

1. Improved ‘Bad’ LDL Cholesterol Levels
   People who have high “bad” LDL are much more likely to have heart attacks (38, 39).

However, the size of the particles is important. Smaller particles are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, while larger particles are linked to a lower risk (40, 41, 42).

It turns out that low-carb diets increase the size of “bad” LDL particles while reducing the number of total LDL particles in your bloodstream (43Trusted Source).

As such, lowering your carb intake can boost your heart health.

SUMMARY
When you eat a low-carb diet, the size of your “bad” LDL particles increases, which reduces their harmful effects. Cutting carbs may also reduce the number of total LDL particles in your bloodstream.

1. Therapeutic for Several Brain Disorders
   Your brain needs glucose, as some parts of it can only burn this type of sugar. That’s why your liver produces glucose from protein if you don’t eat any carbs.

Yet, a large part of your brain can also burn ketones, which are formed during starvation or when carb intake is very low.

This is the mechanism behind the ketogenic diet, which has been used for decades to treat epilepsy in children who don’t respond to drug treatment (44).

In many cases, this diet can cure children of epilepsy. In one study, over half of the children on a ketogenic diet experienced a greater than 50% reduction in their number of seizures, while 16% became seizure-free (45).

Very low-carb and ketogenic diets are now being studied for other brain conditions as well, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease (46Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Low-carb and keto diets have proven beneficial in treating epilepsy in children and are being studied for their effects on other brain conditions.
The Bottom Line
Few things are as well established in nutrition science as the immense health benefits of low-carb and ketogenic diets.

Not only can these diets improve your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar, but they also reduce your appetite, boost weight loss and lower your triglycerides.

If you’re curious to boost your health, one of these diets could be worth considering.

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Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-low-carb-ketogenic-diets#section9