Last week in the comments section, it was mentioned that some readers would like to read what my personal favorite shoes are and how I break them down; I thought this was a great idea so I started compiling the list. Before giving you that list I felt it would be good to give you a better idea of what I look for in a shoe. Continue reading Design Insight With Brett Golliff: Here Goes My List…
As I was going through my collection I realized that my purchases used to be around hype and what the most popular shoe was, but that quickly changed once I started learning more about design. As I was compiling the list I was looking for something the shoes all had in common, I wanted to know what the driving force was behind me being attracted to these particular shoes.
The shoes I tend to buy now are shoes that impress me by doing something that has either never been done before or takes a common manufacturing process to the next level. I love seeing a shoe that has a high level of detail and craftsmanship. Aesthetically, I am attracted to a tailored-look, something that is simple but dynamic and has a bold statement about what it is trying to accomplish. I also love shoes that make the market look at what it has been doing for the past few years and rethink everything it has done. The majority of the shoes on my list have revolutionized the industry in some form. They all take design in a bold new direction whether it is with color, shape, texture or performance.
Execution is one common trait that all the shoes on my list excel at. All of the shoes perform their given task at a high level. The shoes do not lack any thought; every edge of material, every line of the pattern and every flex-zone in the sole unit has been considered and has reason as to why they take their shape. A great example of this is the Air Jordan XX3. It transformed everything from how a shoe performs to how a shoe is constructed.
Another trait that kept coming up is they answer the “why” questions. A good method for designing a product is to ask the “whys”. Why are we using so many pieces? Why is this shoe so heavy? Why can’t this shoe be closer to the foot? Why is this shoe not more rigid? The Nike Mercurial series constantly is taking these questions into consideration and rethinking the whole concept behind a soccer boot. The Mercurial series takes all of the performance solutions and compiles them into a beautiful package that is both forward thinking and aesthetically compelling. This line constantly has me impressed.
One of my all-time favorite shoes is probably one of the more unknown pieces of footwear, the Nike Grigoros. Developed for the 2008 Olympic games for the sport of Kayaking, it is a molded form of rubber that takes the shape of the foot. It caught me completely off-guard when I first saw it and still makes me rethink how I currently design.
My list is constantly changing. I would be willing to bet at the end of this whole process my list will have changed, but I believe it should change. Design evolves and so should my list; so in no particular order here are my favorites:
-Air Jordan XX3
-Nike E-Cue
-Nike Presto
-Air Jordan XI
-Air Jordan XIII
-Air Jordan XIV
-Nike Zoom Kobe V
-Nike Grigoros
-Nike LunarRacer
-Nike Mercurial Vapor Series
I may get flack for this list being all Nike, but you can’t ignore culture, people. If somebody does something well, you should appreciate it; not hate it. So stay tuned in the coming weeks as I break down these shoes and the effect it had on me as a designer.
B
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Brett Golliff is a Designer 1 at New Balance
Check out previous “Design Insight With Brett Golliff” posts:
- Allow Me To Introduce Myself…
- Design Insight: Inspected (Inspired) by #23
- Design Insight: Art or Theft?
- Design Insight: Examining The Forces…
- Design Insight: The Sketchbook
- Design Insight: Forever Young
Really looking forward to hearing your personal thoughts on each shoe. Looks like a solid top 10 list to me.
This series is constantly inspiring me in my own work. You are REALLY talented-both with design obviously but also being able to turn your visual thoughts into well written words and pieces to share with us. Nike should seriously try to scoop you up to design for them. You got crazy talent!!
i check for this post every week now. good read
Only shoe on your list I didn’t really remember immediately was the Nike Grigoros. Very interesting shoe. Nike is def a beast..they stay putting out the freshest designs.
Prestos are some of the best concept shoes ever. Nice to see that one on your list.
“The majority of the shoes on my list have revolutionized the industry in some form. They all take design in a bold new direction whether it is with color, shape, texture or performance.”
YES! I like the thoughts on this one..
looks like a good sneaker list to me. someone at nike basketball really should make you an offer
i’m surprised no other brand made it on the list
Thanks for the comments guys.
This list is basically shoes that inspire me the most. I would say these shoes constantly made me think. I did have other shoes/companies on the list. Zoot, Ecco and New Balance were on the list but as I narrowed it down these were honestly the most influential to me and how I currently work/think.
I absolutely love Ecco’s Biom shoe but it didn’t make the list because I didn’t feel it instantly made me rethink how I designed. Zoot is a favorite of mine because of the way they incorporate their apparel philosophy into their footwear. The New Balance 320 is easily one of my favorite shoes to wear, the material choices are amazing; they are raw in their nature and very utilitarian and just great to wear but I would be lying if I said it influences how I design.
This list more came about by what inspires me to achieve higher. If I were to go with shoes that I wear this list would be dramatically different.
Hope that sheds a little more light on my selection process.
B
Thanks for the extra light on your selections. I think you did a fanstastic job making the distinction on what you want to include and why. Great thought process!
my fave series here each week. always gives me new insights and ways to think about products. sick job keepin it up
i always wondered what made you choose the shoe that you really wanted to buy or what you liked about it . now that you have explained it’ making sense . love to read this each mon. can’t wait til next wk
Cool read. Thx!
the ecue, nice! personally, i liked that design more than the URL when those two came out as part of nike’s ‘hardcore made for skate’ line.
is that list in order?
mercurials are always pushin it on design and tech. good pic
great list, but just a quick correction: the nike zoom aerofly is a track spike. the cleat in your pic is the mercurial superfly (:
Teflon, thank you for pointing them out. I seriously knew that, their folders are located right next to each other and I must have mixed them up in my head when I was getting the files. My bad!
CO.TM, it is no order. I can’t put things in order its always changing.
B
You got a really crazy talent dude and the words to back it, Nike couldn’t have explained it better. Great list, Great read . . . thx!
As far as basketball shoes go my number one would be the Nike Jet flight! I think Nike had to eventually pay Steve Nash and Luke Ridenour to STOP wearing them. To me they were a masterpiece! It was the ultimate point guard shoe. They were extremely light, and very flexible almost performed like the Nike Free series. Aside from their performance and comfort, the Jet Flight was so sick looking! I love the thick strap and material choices. Their was absolutely no business or over design on that shoe. I don’t know how to explain it, but it is one of those shoes that when you are watching someone play in them, your attention is constantly drawn to their feet. It’s almost as if the shoes are so lively and expressive in their design that they seem to be moving themselves. Anyways if I had to play in one shoe for the rest of my days, it wouldn’t be a Jordan, it would be the Jet Flight!