3 STEPS TO DESIGNING GREAT FOOTWEAR CONCEPTS

PICK A HIGH-LEVEL CATEGORY • Categories are related in some way to your customer demographic• Examples: cars, music, home, or emotion• Create a mood board associated with one of the categories you

choose

1. HIGH LEVEL INSPIRATION

EXAMPLE: • We Chose to focus on Music

1. HIGH LEVEL INSPIRATION

2. CATEGORIZE

EXPLORE A CATEGORY • Explore the different characteristics and attributes associated

with the high-level category you choose• Use a white board to list out as many different attributes as possible.• Go deep and get creative. This is where you can develop a unique

angle.

EXAMPLE:• In our example, we first suggested different

genres of music and looked at the production attributes for each genre and the objects related to that genre. Eventually we settled on rap music, and dove into the processes involved with making this type of music. Everything from audio waves, turntables, analog faders from a soundboard, patch cables, and speakers were used to draw inspiration for this idea.

2. CATEGORIZE

3. CONCEPT DESIGN

STYLING ATTRIBUTE • Hone in on a particular styling attribute• Use visuals to help inspire your design • Get highly specific and over exaggerate the attribute in your design

language. You’ll refine your design later on.

3. CONCEPT DESIGN

EXAMPLE: • We chose to

focus on the turntable. Notice that the initial designs were small. This helps to establish the overall shape of the shoe and allows the designer to explore different ideas quickly.

THE END

Visit the full length article on our blog: www.concept-21.com/blog

Produced By: