PENSOLE World Sneaker Championship Diaries: Day 3

TEAM UNDER ARMOUR

Roster: Satoshi Sutoh, Jonathan Guisbert, Ako Xiang, and Seth Peterson (CMF)
So, day 3 at the world sneaker championship and it already feels like we’ve been here a week or two…and I mean that in a really good way. I learned a ton today about the key components of a great design through story telling. Using real world examples, D’Wayne explained the design thinking for some well-known products and processes, and why they are actually successful. For example, I found out that movie theatres circulate the popcorn smell into individual theatres in order to peak your sense of smell and get you to go buy popcorn if you didn’t already purchase it on your way in! It’s sort of an absurd idea, but it works and is something they build into movie theatres (probably explains why every time you take a girl to the movies, she says she doesn’t want anything on the way in…then as soon as you sit down she actually does want some popcorn and candy and soda haha…but I digress.) Story telling is a really important part of the design process and really allows your product to reach the consumer through their five senses. Afterwards, we discussed our design direction with D’Wayne and began to think about further pushing our design briefs.

What a way to start the morning. These words really hit home to me because this is something I strongly believe in. You have to constantly push yourself to get better and not just compete against others, but also against yourself. I think this quote also told me about innovation and how important that is to a brand’s success…not just from a technology standpoint, but innovating and exceeding EVERYTHING about the design process.

From the left, Satoshi Sutoh, Jonathan Guisbert (me), and Ako Xiang

This is the Under Armour basketball design team. Getting to know these guys and sharing thoughts about design and the footwear industry has been really valuable. It feels really cool to share something I’m so passionate about with other people who love it was well. We’re each from different countries and bring a different perspective to our group, which is one of the most amazing parts of this competition, you get to think globally and interact with people who have actually been to factories in Asia, and even those who’ve already been working with product for many years.

To the left are boards from previous Pensole students. To the right, a collection of sneakers that D’Wayne designed. Each sneaker tells a story, and D’Wayne has stories for days.

Today was not just about where footwear is going; it was also about where it has been. We had a pretty cool discussion about different design elements from the past and how they came to be. For example, the elephant print on the Jordan 3, while seeming very intentional, was just a one of the leathers in a pile of swatches that MJ had to go through and pick one he liked…subjective, but something that became an iconic element of the Jordan franchise. Funny how things work, sometimes happy accidents create some of the best designs!