My first shoe designs ever! AsicsDesignCompetition entries.

I recently found Core77 and have gotten so much inspiration already from all you talented designers so I decided to give you my first contribution

Its my entry in the 2007 Asics Shoe Design Competition
http://www.asicsdesigncompetition.com
Since the selections for the 5 finalists is over I thought it would be a great idea to share my design.

Love to get comments, suggestions and critique from the pro’s
Hope you like it!

1st entry: The Asics Breeze is a track training shoe converted into a street sneaker:

”Inspired by track athletes for urban consumers constantly on the move.
Keeping the clAsSICS shape, while staying cool and comfortable during
the hottest days of summer. Remove the heat, add the Breeze!”

2nd entry: No limit on the Beach (The Asics BeachFlip 2007)

”Who said casual shoes should look dull. This minimalistic shoe
brings style and comfort to a fluid lifestyle. Lightweight enough
to bring you anywhere and as close as you get to barefoot freedom”

Thx for watching! :slight_smile:

Wow man I would rock those track-inspired ones in a second!! That is some really unique work. What software is that? It looks so real.

Dammmn! Well impressed. The finalists must be real nice if you didn’t make it. The renders are sik. And the shoes look real good too. Kinda’ remind me of the old huarache trainer. Would be cool to see some other colours.

It’s cool what you’ve done with the logo on that flip flop. Just shows I need to step up my game! You got any more work you can show, footwear or non-footwear?

Yeah man great work! I would rock either of those in a second! GREAT work!

I want them, and I want them now. Gimme!

Very nice work.

Do you have any shots of the bottoms?

I think some colorways and more process would have taken these over the top. Also, there might have been some legal consideration, using logos in a functional way can weaken the trademark on that logo (though Adidas and New Balance do it all the time…)

Good stuff!

Love those sandals. Good work.

I love that track-inspired design. How hard is it to pop it with some color with your 3D software? What software did you use, by the way?

The collar piece that runs from the back (achilles) to under the ankle looks very thin. May possibly be too weak. Another problem with it is that it’s very curvy. When worn and put under stress, the excessive curve of that piece will cause the bottom line of that piece to straighted and the upper line to pucker.

Thx everyone! Im honestly a bit overwhelmed by all your nice words and it
means a lot to me since Im fairly new to the whole world of ID.

If I could I would get them in production cause there seem to be a lot
of interest, maybe I should start my own shoe company :wink:
And of course I would give you Core77 members some free samples :slight_smile:

BTW Here is a 360 quicktime video of the sneakers:

I still havent heard anything more about the competition results.

Yo: its an honour to hear such nice words from a guru like yourself :slight_smile:
I was a bit rushed to meat the deadline so I couldnt find time to work that
much on the soles but heres a small sample:

Incorporating the logo in a functional way was actually part of the
competition theme so it was not my fault :slight_smile:
'll see if I can do some colorwork later on but this world of ID is so new to
me I dont know where to start.

Traveller9: Thx for your feedback didnt think about that.
Maybe I would solve that problem by bridging the two Asics stripes on each
side together around the heel for stronger shoe.
Like this:

Boogeyman: Thx for your nice words, honestly Im rather impressed with
your design aswell. Im a newbie when it comes to ID so I havent done any
more work than this (except from an electronic device that Im not allowed to
show because of copyright and ownership issues) but Im working on some
small things at the moment hopefully I will be able to post them here later on.

mhsrunner09 & Traveler9: I used Maya, Modo and Photoshop for these
renders. Usually I use all thoose apps and Cinema4D aswell for all my 3D
work (and then good ol Photoshop for final touches). All apps is good at
different things so I cant really recommend any one 3d app over the other
but if you start with one keep consistent using it until you master it before
switching or you will loose a lot of precious time adapting to a new software,
trust me I’ve done that mistake and tried to learn them all. its a big NO! NO!
And also most of todays 3d apps can produce amazing renders but its not
the application itself that defines the final output its the artist and his ability
to use the software to its full potential. For example I cant use Mayas render
engine (its to advanced and non intuitive) but I know a lot of people producing outstanding work in that app. I love modeling in Maya so I
use Modo or C4D to render instead.

Hope you didnt fall asleep :slight_smile:

/AquaStealth

Your designs look GREAT! Love them both. Like Ryan said, would like to see some more vibrant color applied to the track concept…but otherwise VERY nice work!

That watch is sick! Is that available as a product for sale that you just rendered???

-TH

hey, is that the watch from the Modo tutorials?

Imagination Engineered | Foundry :unamused:

If so, I wouldn’t be signing those renders.

Just some advice.

By the way, nice shoes!

cuototo: thx for the advice.
I used the tuts at a slight amount but actually did most from scratch as I see more of a challenge doing things on my own.
But I had to get inspiration from some place and Andy is the man :slight_smile:

VD23:
No the watch is not available as I know at least not in thoose colors but I can check it up if you want.

I’ll see what I can do with the coloring, maybe add some new colors during the weekend, if you have any suggestions please tell :slight_smile:

Aquastealth,
Great shoes, going to have to join everyone else in saying I would rock a pair of those any day… and twice on sunday. The flip flop especially…wow, great vision and execution.
Quick question:
You say several times that you are new to ID (could have fooled me :slight_smile:), if you don’t mind me asking what field are you involved in now?

hefty unicycle:
thx for you kind words :slight_smile:
lol if everyone keep rocking my shoes I’ll have to start thinking about getting better security at home :slight_smile:

Actually Im into business and economics and only do this as a hobby
Ive done some freelance webdesign earlier aswell but it was only during last year I got into computer graphics.
Ive always loved good design and If I could relive my life I would definitely get a real design education of some sort.
My dream would be to work with ID but I dont know where to start seems impossible to get a job without education.

Im really glad I found Core77 cause it has opened up my eyes to a whole new and wonderful world :slight_smile:

Let’s put it this way, I would consider hiring you if you had a portfolio full of concepts like the one you had above. The thing that you will need to show is how you came up with the idea. The elusive process.

Your final presentation is far better than many 3rd year students I have taught.

thx for answering ip-wirelessly. and thx for the compliment:)
Could you please give some advice on how to present your idea and development process?

As for these shoes I just took some time to absorb the theme which was to use the Asics stripes in a creative, eccentric and functional way
then I refined my ideas with some quick sketches.
I come from track training so thats were I found my inspiration, I love the feeling you get when wearing sprint shoes its almost like youre invincible.
But you always get sweaty so I removed some parts that I felt unnecessary for the shoe. I wanted to transfer all that into a regular street sneaker shoe.
As for the beachflip I just wanted to get rid of to much design elements and go back to basics, Ive always been appealed by simple and clean shapes so why make things complicated.

Im working on a portfolio but its really time consuming.
What would be your advice, should I try to stay in one field and make even more shoes for my upcoming portfolio or is it better to show design knowledge in other product areas aswell?

Any other general advice of how to get into ID will be highly appreciated.

Thx for listening/ AquaStealth

Asking for advice on a portfolio is like asking advice on which religion you should follow. You will get a different answer from everyone on this forum.

As for showing your process, its about proving to a potential employer that you have the ability to design products well in a repeatable fashion.

Show your thumbnail sketches. Show different color schemes. Take the same design and tweak it so that its geared for a different consumer demographic.

If you just sat down at the computer and started sketching in 3D and ended with a design that doesn’t sell your ability. It doesn’t show that you can design for Nike one day and Hush Puppies the next (to stick with the shoe theme).

Have a look at the link to AK47’s thread. See how he starts with an idea and it gets massaged over a period of days/weeks. Starts with a concept, receives crits, applies it, rinses, washes and repeats.

As you get more experienced you’ll get better and more efficient at hitting the target out of the gate.

Thx again ip_wirelessly

Will take notice of your words and try to lern from the experienced designers.
At the moment I dont have the time I want to work more on these shoes but I will definitely think of reworking them later on.

Yes AK47s shoe concept is some seriously good design work.
Is it commonly accepted that you always have to base your design on existing objects like AK47 using materials from the nature and a rubber wheel etc?

It’s not a requirement or anything, but everything comes from somewhere. I think by showing these “inspiration” objects, it gives a bit of a window into a designer’s thought process. You could be in the Egyptian wing of an art museum, looking at a mummy, and get an idea for a wrapped sandal or something.

Showing process helps people viewing your project understand where it all came from.

As for your folio, I think it would be best to show all of your strengths. Some employers prefer someone who is highly focused, others like generalists who have experience in many things. Personally I like to see a well rounded portfolio. its more interesting.