Expand Quote
I've come to peace with most nb models having the standard N branding but that Knox shoe realllly made me wish they made an exception with that model. That upper would look very good to me without a logo.
With the black one I feel if the N used the smoother material as the outline and suede in the middle it would blend really well. It often stands out too much due to the material and colors of the outline and main N. This is where the new 440 will be interesting because it actually blends decently well on that blue proto that is floating around but could do any which way.
Although I didn't like all the changes in that new 440 photo, I agree about the logo. It could have almost gone bigger to reach both the bottom and top of the upper. Makes the N look more like a design element to the shoe than a logo slapped on the side.
Nike and Adidas shoes while branded heavily, have logos that are lines and arches, which can be disguised as a design rather than branding.
I can even go deeper off the rocker and venture to say the Cariuma logo is more well integrated into the shoes than New Balance. The companies obviously shit and maybe so is the logo. But it looks more at home on a shoe than a letter N.