Interview NIKE training footwear design with nathan van hook, director

On our recent trip designboom had the opportunity to speak to nathan vanhook, NIKE athletic training footwear design director. Since joining the firm nate's designed some of the most sought in recent years for example the woven footscape chukka and the yeezy II. nathan vanhook: I was always quite thinking about design and art and grew up playing baseball through the 80s and 90s. I worked other occupations and studied industrial design before I came to work at NIKE five years ago. Having drawn on shoes as a kid and being an enormous sneaker fan of working for NIKE the idea, seemed like a chance that was amazing and occasionally it still feels unreal to be designing shoes for a living. Since joining the firm I've been incredibly lucky with the jobs I have worked on and with the gifted folks I have been able to collaborate with. For the first few years I was a senior designer working across different sectors, then last year I moved to NIKE training. when I was asked about joining the training team all I kept thinking about was the bo jackson advertisements, john mcenroe and the original cross trainers by tinker hatfield... I couldn't turn down the chance to build on that history. With training it's excellent to be able to work on products that people not only wear regular but that they also drive to their own limits. DB: what would you say is your most powerful ability? NVH: my passion for sport and my hunger to design. I really just love geeking- out and state-of-the-art design. I keep myself updated on what is happening in industrial design and architecture I am constantly reading up on new technologies, art, fashion, design as much as I can take in basically. DB: in this type of competitive market how do you try and stay ahead of your competitors? NVH: we're obsessive in what we do and we love what we do. DB: what targets do you wish to reach with your future endeavors? NVH: we would like to surprise folks and we want to always enhance our products. Something we hear when it comes to the training set is the fact that people desire to feel like they have nothing on, they don't want the training gear to obstruct them or deflect them at all. So we're focusing on optimizing fit, articulation, making things l nike free 5.0 running shoe.ghter to ensure that everything works with the body in complete unison. DB: apart from the sportsman penetrations, what is another major factor in your design approach? NVH: it is based on the shoe's purpose that we are working on, the specific things the shoe needs to perform. I always try and design things that I'd like to wear myself. does the shoe look trendy enough? Could it be surprising? What is new about it? DB: what how is it feeding into your work and currently fascinates you? something else that astonishes me is finding modern production methods, the level of detail we can work at today... seeing how a zaha hadid building or a frank gehry building gets constructed there is so much good work being done right now. DB: have you got any advice how to enter sports design for young designers? NVH: if you've seen cheap nike free run 3.0.t before it's been done. You will need to be thinking about what's next. Challenge yourself and raise your game continuously. look at what individuals are doing and try and do something better. Hard work makes gift go a ways and pays off. You've got to hustle and grind away to achieve anything it takes a lot of attempt. Nterview NIKE training footwear design with nathan van hook, director On our recent trip to NIKE WHQ designboom had the opportunity to talk to nathan vanhook, NIKE athletic training footwear design director. Since joining the firm nate's designed some of the most sought in recent years for example the yeezy II and the woven footscape chukka. he told us more about his influences and design strategy... nathan vanhook: Myself grew up playing baseball and 90s and was always quite thinking about design and art. I studied industrial design and worked a few other occupations before I came to work at NIKE five years ago. Having drawn shoes as a kid and being a huge sneaker buff of working for NIKE the idea appeared like a fantastic chance and occasionally it still feels unreal for myself to be designing shoes for a living. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with since joining the business I've been incredibly lucky with the projects I've worked on and with the gifted folks. For the first few years myself was a senior designer working across different sectors, then last year I moved to NIKE training. Myself could not turn down the opportunity to build on that history. With training it's amazing to be able to work on products that people not only wear everyday but that they also drive to their own limits. NVH: my love for sport and my hunger to design. Myself really only enjoy geeking- out over both sport and state-of-the-art design. I keep myself updated on what is occurring in industrial design and architecture I'm constantly reading up on new technologies, artwork, fashion, design just as much as I will take in basically. DB: in such a competitive market how can you make an effort to stay in front of your competitors? NVH: we love what we do and we're in what we do fanatical. DB: what goals do you need to achieve with your future projects? NVH: we would like to surprise people and we need to constantly enhance our products. Something we hear when it involves the training collection is the fact that people desire to feel like they have nothing on, they don't want the training gear deflect them at all or to obstruct them. So we are focusing on optimizing to ensure that everything works with the body in complete unison healthy, articulation, making things lighter. DB: apart in the athlete insights, what's another major variable in your design approach? NVH: it is contingent on the function of the shoe that we're working on, the things that are particular the shoe must perform. I always try and design things that I'd like to wear myself. does the shoe appear trendy enough? Can it be astonishing? What's new about it? DB: what now fascinates you and how is it feeding into your work? NVH: space technology, TED conference speakers, science... when I see what's happening in our invention kitchen and research labs it blows my head; we live in the future now. Another thing that astonishes myself is finding modern production approaches, the degree of detail we can work at today... seeing how a zaha hadid building or a frank gehry building gets built there's so much great work being done right now. DB: have you got any guidance on how to enter sports design for young designers? NVH: if you've seen it before it's been done. You will need to be thinking about what nike free 50 men black.is next. Challenge yourself and lift your game continuously. look at what folks are doing and attempt to do something better. Hard work pays off and makes talent go a ways. You need to hustle and grind away to attain anything it takes a lot of attempt.