The North Face Logo History

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The North Face, Inc. is an outdoor product company specializing in high-end outerwear, fleece, footwear, and equipment. The clothing and equipment lines are catered towards climbers, mountaineers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, and endurance athletes.The clothing line is famous for its use on mountaineering expeditions on Mt. Everest and in other extreme outdoor activities.

The North Face brand was established in 1968, in San Francisco, California, when Douglas Tompkins and Kenneth "Hap" Klopp created an equipment retail store that eventually acquired the current name "The North Face". This name was chosen because the north face of a mountain in the northern hemisphere is generally the steepest, coldest, and most difficult face to climb.
The North Face's easily recognizable logo consists of a slightly skewed quarter-circle with two lines running within it. This image is supposedly an interpretation of the famous Half Dome rock formation in Yosemite National Park. Adjacent to the symbol are the words THE NORTH FACE embroidered in large block letters.

Yosemite Half Dome

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_North_Face