adrian newell: make your mark

‘make your mark’

‘make your mark’ by UK graphic designer adrian newell is a typeface that takes its form from the impression left by the sole of a nike shoe.

‘as nike started out creating shoes for running I thought it would be best to go back to its routes. in running, it is about the power of the athlete and how far they can push themselves, no technology is involved, and the sole of the shoe is where the athlete transfers this power to the surface. this became the basis for the typeface. I used the soles of the shoe to create prints and based the typeface on the digital timer seen at the end of the 100m track.‘ – AN

‘make your mark’ typeface

from the three posters created, ‘on your marks’ is based on the start of the race, the second ‘leave your mark’ is about making an impression and leaving a legacy behind, while the third is the time of usain bolt’s 100m world record ‘09.58’, meant as an inspiration to fast runners.

‘make your mark’ is part of a group challenge titled nike78 initiated by paul jenkins. using sport as an inspiration, jenkins asked 78 creatives to reexamine the function of a pair of nike shoes, and create a design response. the collection of work will be a part of london design week 2010 in september.

‘leave your mark’ poster

‘on your mark’ poster

usain bolt’s 100m world record ‘09.58’ poster