marni gerberD E S I G N E R . I N N O V A T O R .
26years ofdesign &innovation
about meI PIONEER
Gerber Design- Head Sports- Little Tykes- Fisher Price- Speedo- M&M Mars
Kid Suites
I INNOVATE
26 years creating- Mattel- Avia- Gerber Design- Nike
16+ patents
I LIVE
2 creative kids- Alix (23) Environmental Design- Maks (20) Entertainment Design
Designer husband- Cliff, Nike + Aircraft
Passion for cooking, biking, sculling
Fun. Focused. Energetic.
I LEARN
Syracuse University1979-1982- Technical- Form Follows Function
Art Center College of Design1982-1985 BS- Visual Communication- Design Thinking
E1985 - 1987 / MATTEL, DESIGNERCreated new concepts and designed accessories for Barbie and Electra within New Business Concepts, similar to Nike’s Innovation Kitchen. Focused on Preschool Toys.
1987-1989 / AVIA, DESIGN llDesigned several best selling models for Women.
1989-1992/ GERBER DESIGN INC.Worked with my husband, Cliff & hired freelancers as needed. Clients included: Head Sports, Speedo, Fisher Price, Little Tikes, M&M Mars & Nike.
1992- 1997 / NIKE INC, SR DESIGNERDesigned Men’s, Women’s and Kids’ product for Basketball, TBC, Walking, Training & Cricket.
1997-2001 / GERBER DESIGN INC.Worked with Nike exclusively whilst raising my kids. Designed Women’s & Kids’ Footwear.
2001-2005 / NIKE INC, SR DESIGNERDesigned stand alone Kids’ product.
2005-2009 / NIKE INC, DESIGN MANAGERManaged Kids’ Footwear design group of 7. Designed flexible product for kids. Focused on process & people.
2009-PRESENT / NIKE INC, DESIGN DIRECTORManage group of 8 designers for Young Athletes Footwear. Direct $1.5 billion footwear line. Focus on natural motion, innovation, color, material, graphics & apparel integration for kids age 0-10.
16patents
1 / PATENT # D306370Shoe Upper. Avia
2 / PATENT #D297586Shoe upper. Avia
3 / PATENT #D297981Shoe Sole. Avia
4 / PATENT #D297383Shoe Sole. Avia
5 /PATENT #D306371Shoe Upper. Avia
6 / PATENT #D297588Shoe upper. Avia
7 / PATENT # 7644517Modular Article of Footwear. Nike Sandal
8 / PATENT #D297981Shoe Sole. Avia PATENT #D467723Shoe Upper. Nike Weave Walker
9 / PATENT #7845095Article of Footwear for use with right foot and left foot
10 / PATENT #D383597Element of a shoe upper
11 / PATENT #D380081Element of a shoe upper. Air Rupt. Basketball shoe.
12 / PATENT #D474010Shoe Upper. Nike Dynamo 3
13 / PATENT #7117615Shoe with reversible upper. Nike Sandal
14 / PATENT #D380601Side Element of a Shoe Upper. Nike
15 / PATENT #D451271Portion of a shoe upper. Nike Dynamo
16 / SMS PATENTArticle of FW with Midsole Structure
Enike
women’s footwear
AIR TENATION LOW- Lightweight, young, aggressive, athletic, versatile gym shoe
AIR VIVACITY- Breathable upper/dri-fit tongue, midfoot and heel strap fit system- Visible heel air-sole unit, forefoot articulated zoom air- Low profile, snug fit for daily aerobic workouts
AIR SUBMERGE & BLUSTERY WALKER- Low pressure air in heel and flexible air unit in forefoot- 100% waterproof upper, sticky rubber outsole for wet surfaces- Reflective for dark winter days/nights
AIR SORB- Revolutionary removable midsole- Low pressure heel air-sole unit, flexible forefoot unit - Designed for athletic walker who demands comfort
AIR ASTREA LITE- Extremely lightweight Dow Engage unit sole and breathable upper- Speed lace for personalized fit
AIR VIVIFY- Breathable spacer mesh, integrated midfoot support- Visible blow molded air-sole forefoot and heel
AIR DISPERSION- Lightweight and flexible for the young professional who is on the go
AIR RUPT- Insights from Lisa Leslie and Dawn Staley- USA women’s team & top national women’s college teams- Lightweight, supportive and visible with Max blow molded air sole
air swoopes
FIRST FEMALE ATHLETE SIGNATURE SHOE AT NIKE
RESEARCH- Observed team play- Shadowed Sheryl through training in Colorado Springs and life in Lubbock, TX- Discussed style of play and important features
DESIGN- Designed, prototyped and tested with Sheryl- Bold midfoot strap for visual support & clean, simple upper(Less shoe, more you)- Zoom Air, Double S (Sheryl Swoopes) outsole design
Creative SPSU 2013
insights-driven
10 year old girls love...comfort. color. fashion. humor. trading with their friends.
BFF SANDAL - interchangeable strapsDesigned by Marie Odinot
confirmed by girls
china dig
young athletes
SUNRAY SERIES- Flexible, lightweight, low-cost sandals for kids. Easy on for kids on the go.
FIRST CRAWLER & LITTLE SCRAWLER- Minimal sock upper with flexible traction for babies & toddlers who scoot & crawl.
FREE WALKER- First Free shoe for kids. Developed last and designed open vamp with strap for 1:1 upper/outsole ratio. Easy on. Stay on.
NEXT WALKER- Designed for the toddler who has grown up with Free.
IBEX, SUN ANGEL, HOPPER, GET GO- Biomimicry series. Based on kids’ love for animals and the inherent design of the creature. Traction, illumination, flexibility & easy on.
SCOOTIE BOOTIE- Designed for the first time stander and scooter. Flexible traction.
WEAVE WALKER- Designed for the early walker. Flexible outsole and Dynamicstretch woven upper.
CLICKITS SANDAL- Collaboration with LEGO.
DYNAMO- Designed for the growing Young Athlete who is tough on shoes. Stretch upper with rubber support. Flexible Unit Sole.
scaled innovation
PEANUT- Designed the Sensory Motion System in collaboration with Aaron Cooper.
RUNABOUT- Designed the Runabout using no strobel sock, making it even more flexible than the peanut. This has become the go-to shoe for parents of young walkers.
SMS SHOX- Directed the use of SMS in Adult Inspired models. Shox is typically double lasted and very inflexible. SMS made this shoe very flexible for the young athlete.
SMS LUNAR- Directed the use of SMS in Adult Inspired models. SMS positioned the Lunar closer to the foot and made the Lunar PS and TD shoes very flexible.
SMS KOBE- SMS in signature models. Made the most flexible Kobe shoes we have ever created.
NEXT STEPS- Young Athletes team is developing a next step from SMS to use on all TD models, an example of one innovation leading to a whole line of innovative product.
0brand support $1.5
billion0 NSRL SUPPORT
(2 studies in 10 years)
0 INNOVATION KITCHEN SUPPORT
0 RETAIL PRESENCE
0 CONSUMER INSIGHTS SUPPORT
$150,000 DESIGN BUDGET
PAT ZEEDICK & TEAM are making a difference
We’re resourceful.
19 years at Nike, networking through the org: worked with most categories (sport & sportswear), NSRL, Innovation Kitchen, Footwear, Apparel, Equipment, Design, Development & Marketing.
collaborative
Econnected
strategic
creative
Cross-functional brainstorming: gather diverse teams for solving problems. For example: Leverage Our Scale- ideation sessions, goaled with saving millions of dollars. Two solutions currently being implemented are reduction of material waste and manufacturing/costing standardization.
Ensure direction is set, communicate, ask questions, be curious, organize inspiring, insightful trips/digs (e.g. ILM, DISNEY, IDEO), make room for innovation, collaborate on calendar/process & get out of the way.
I Design: Product, inspiring trips, creative sessions with 10 year old girls & boys, DIGs, teams, creative direction, brainstorm sessions. It’s all: Fun, Innovative, & Informative.
accoladesCHERYL NENOW / CFL Young Athletes Footwear“A consistently curious and straightforward communicator– a great coach, collaborator and commercially creative. Marni has successfully assembled a design team of young, fresh talent– a “talent magnet” for our Young Athlete’s footwear team. Folks want to work for and with Marni!”
MERRITT RICHARDSON / Olympics GM“Marni is one of those people who truly works from a place of passion. Very real, very genuine– she believes in doing what is right and what is best for the consumer, first. She pushes to find new solutions to old problems, inspired by a commitment that we can– and should– always do better.
She really cares about building an open, honest, hardworking and fun culture. Marni seeks and develops a team of diverse individuals who will bring out the best in each other and then fosters an environment that sparks innovative, creative group genius.”
JOHN HOKE / VP Nike, Inc. Design“I have worked closely with Marni Gerber for nearly 20 years at Nike. Her talent, passion and work ethic have left an important legacy and impression on myself and countless colleagues within Nike Design.
In Marni you will find an energetic, innovative and curious creative mind. She is bright, empathetic and an inspiration to those around her. I am more than confident in her ability to expand on her capacity and potential.
In short, Marni Gerber would be a potent and welcomed addition to any team.
Lastly, it is important to note that she is a leader motivated to make contributions by blending passion and purpose. I believe she would both elevate and excel in your opportunity within the foundation creative director role.”
Art CenterCollege of Design
Syracuse UniversityIndustrial Design
D2 - AviaD1 - Mattel Toys
Design Excellence
Client Relations
Design time
Multi-tasking
Product Development
Design ConsultantHead SportsLittle TikesFisher Price
NikeSr. Designer
Womens and KidsFootwear
NikeSr. Designer
Womens TrainingFootwear
NikeSr. Designer
Womens BasketballFootwear
NikeSr. Designer
KidsFootwear
NikeDesign Manager
Kids Footwear
NikeDesign DirectorYoung Athletes
Footwear
NikeSr. Design Director
Young AthletesFootwear
NikeSr. Design Director
London
NikeSr. Design Director
Culture &Community
NikeVP Design COE
Footwear Design
Advanced Toy Concepts
Marni GerberCareer Map 02 . 2015
Design Excellence
Consumer research
Teamwork
Master theFundamentals
Simplify and Go
Be a Sponge
Innovation
Design Excellence
Pro-AthleteInteraction
Presentation Skills
Press Release
Basketball Consumer
Technical Product
Innovation
Design Excellence
Global ConsumerExpert
Technical Product
Time Management
Deliver Results
Innovation
GERBER DESIGN, Incdesigned for
Womens TrainingYA Products
Create the FutureDesign Excellence
Drive StrategyMulti-Category
FW/AP/EQDiverse Global
Consumer Expert
Communications
Lead & Developa Diverse Team
Innovation
Acting CCD
Create the FutureDesign Excellence
International Experience
Communication
Multi-FunctionalTeam
Articulatethe Vision
PioneerConnect
CoachBuild
Visioning
Build Relationships
Lead & Develop a Diverse Team
Fly Knit
1-2 yrs. Expat.
Design Excellence
Design Community
DNA
Design Ops
Obtian, Train,& Retain
Design Talent
Story TellingPresentation Class
Design Camp
Media TrainingDesign Camp
ManagingFor Gold
Merch U
Next Step
Narative WorkshopWomen’s DD
LFIONDU 2+yrsApparel DD
Future...