“I heard the beat and I ain’t know what to write…”
This first blog post was hard, I didn’t really know where I wanted to take it. Should I just introduce myself? Or should I come with an impact? I figure the first option would be best. So let me start off by introducing myself, I am Brett Golliff. I am a Designer 1 at New Balance, located just outside of Boston, MA. I spend most of my days drawing shoes. It has provided me a great living for the past three years of my life. Continue reading for Counter Kicks’ brand new series: Design Insight With Brett Golliff…
My journey into shoe design started many years ago. I have been into art my whole life; I love drawing, painting and anything else that inspires me to be creative. I started taking private art lessons at the age of five and continued with them through high school. This provided me with a strong foundation for college. I attended the College For Creative Studies in Detroit, MI. Design school was one the most challenging and rewarding times of my life. The schedule was hell but the outcome was more than rewarding. Design school gave me an opportunity to build my skills and network. It also provided me with two internships; the first at Converse in the Performance category and the second at New Balance in Advanced Product. I ended up being hired into the AP group in December of 2007. I have since moved on from AP and I am now residing in the Training category. I work on a variety of product with ranging price points. I absolutely love it.
I am also a sneakerhead. While my art roots are deep, my shoe roots are deeper. At best I was a mediocre athlete while I was growing up; this gave me the opportunity to focus on my athletic friends’ shoes. I wouldn’t say I have a lot of rare shoes but I would say I have a decent collection. Until recently I had around 300 pairs of shoes, but over the holiday season I gave away 30+ pairs. My collection is filled primarily of Jordan’s, basketball shoes and, more recently, running product. This collection has provided me a decent knowledge of what can and can’t be created in a design when development meetings come around.
I was once told by a good friend to always know what my role is in life. For a long time my role was being a student, learning and absorbing everything around me. I believe that I will always be a student in some way; but as I have grown into this professional designer I have learned that my new role is being an Influencer. Because that is what design is to me. It is making an opinion on what culture and performance currently is and using it to influence the future.
What I hope for this blog to provide Counter Kicks is an area for design to breathe. I want to give an insight to all the up-and-coming designers out there with a dream. I want to give them the insight of what design really is and what it can provide for them, because it can provide a fulfilling life.
I have a lot of ideas for future posts, ranging anywhere from the importance of sketching to my favorite shoes. So stay tuned!
B
This is terrific!! Reading sneaker posts from a designers perspective is pretty cool. Great intro and cant wait to read the coming design posts!
i hope you do an article on what inspires you… I would love to read about what day to day objects give you ideas and goals for future products from body lines on cars to the human form! keep em’ comin
Thanks for sharing your story. Looking forward to seeing this series!
brett this is your cousin man! can’t wait to continue reading, i’ll be sure to check back every couple days to see what’s up.
Im hyped for this! Love this series concept
as someone interested in industrial design and footwear, i am really happy to see this develop! good look!
looks like you have a sweet design studio setup! what kind of stuff or programs do you use for sketching and illustrating your sneakers
Looking forward to reading all your posts!
it’ really nice to see someone so focused on there goals your an inspiration to all young shoe designers
i hope to beable to continue to read all of your posts
Wow – this is going to be so cool. I’ll stay tuned in . . . can’t wait to see/hear your plans on influencing your opinion through design. You have some interesting ideas and I look forward to you sharing them.
nice writing. while your taste in shoes may be decent, your taste in sports teams still sucks.
fresh series. ill be lookin out for these posts
Sounds like a great idea for a series
Love the concept!
Dope wall posters. Any thing related to footwear design is a big positive to see more of.
Thanks for all the positive feedback! I am currently hard at work on the next post. Stay tuned!
I’m really excited for this series. Brett’s got some great ideas lined up for future posts!
I like your thinking and ideas to influence the future – You sound like the kinda guy that vision. What I would really like to see on a future post from you, is your insight on sneaker design in the year 2020. A wild future prediction.
Thats a sick idea. What sneaker designs look like in the future! I like this new series.
thanks for telling us more about shoe design on this! i think it can be a great thing for every one!!
i’m glad your going to continue your posts. it’s not only very interesting on what your thinking but how you arrive at your end result . looking forward to more!
Very impressive man! You definitely provide an impressive insight into world of shoe design. Can’t wait to cop a pair of your product in the future! Keep the posts coming man!!
A suggestion, as you work on the new Minimus, why not go all the way and shape it like a human foot. Don’t design the shoe so it looks like a rocket. Don’t make it symmetrical. Shape it so it fits a human foot. This shouldn’t be a radical notion.