D E S I G N TA S K SPORT CULTURE BASED FOOTWEAR DESIGN
By Kristine Vodon
DESIGN BRIEF
Make a visual story about a specific sport culture or code and create a footwear concept based on this story. Create a product concept born from culture, built for purpose, and daringly simple.
T H E S PO RT O F WAKESKATIN G Wakeskating is a subculture sport best described as the intersection between skateboarding and wakeboarding. A rider is towed on the water, often behind a boat, and wears shoes to interact with and manoeuvre the board beneath their feet.
THE CULTUR E OF WA KES KATI N G Wakeskating is a niche sport with most of its participants in Southern US or Australia. The relatively small size of its following has created a tight sense of community with its riders. Although it is an individual’s sport, there’s still very much a team mentality surrounding it. Each rider supports and pushes one another for the benefit of exploring (and sometimes blowing past) the outer limits of wakeskating.
The riders of the sport are thrill seeking individuals who are often outgoing, bold personalities who are never scared to show their true colours. There is a sense of support among this community that encourages individuality and uniqueness.
“We that ride
are self expressionists and visual communicators who have been raised in a world in which the techniques and apparatus we use and investigate with are spawned and evolved from a subculture of misfits and social outcasts (surf, skate, music, art). These pioneers felt the need to break away and blaze other trails. From suburban sprawls, subway halls, train yards, far islands, green rooms, cement jungles, and our own garages. Talented, idealists, artists, and athletes, for the love of inner solace that comes from these black arts. Exchanged by the progression of the self thru often times painful trial and error. Courage and achievements set the bar for self/others to conquer and raise to the next, to push on and against -- end on end, level over level. These bloody roots are fueled and pushed on by skinned knees, broken bones, and dreams. The drive within our hearts brought out of adolescent angst transforming and freeing us on to adults... giving us eyes to view and draw lines few venture or will ever see. This lifestyle binds friends and foe alike, with our own languages, spoken world wide. The process the journey emancipates and propitiate us in our rites of spring.�
-Erich Schmaltz, wakeskater (from wakeskateing.com blog)
USER CENTRED DESIGN RIDER SURVEY
58 wakeskaters from around the world with over 400 years of combined experience were surveyed for me to better understand the demographic I am designing for. This includes their lifestyle, and their wants and needs in wakeskating footwear. I was able to survey a number of professional wakeskaters including f ive-time World Wakeboard Association
World Championship winner Reed Hansen. The feedback I got was incredibly valuable to my design direction. There clearly is a need in the market for an improved wakeskate specif ic shoe. Here are some of the most important results I collected from the survey:
D E S I G N F E AT U R E I M P O R TA N C E AG E R A N G E
B OA R D S U R FAC E
EXPERIENCE TO P R A N K E D F E AT U R E S : 1) Comfort
2) Sole Grip 3) Light weight 4) Flexible 5) Style
USER CENTRED DESIGN SURVEY Q UOTE S
“Bright or white sole so if they fall off you can see them when they flip over in the water” “Mustn’t be uncomfortable to swim in” “Durability. I wakeskate every day a good pair of normal skate shoes last about 3-6 months .” “When winching, walking out the rope you get a lot of sand and gravel in your shoes which really annoys me, a feature to stop that would be amazing.” “Anti smelling haha” “Should be able to skateboard in them as well wakeskate” “...personally I actually take out the sole of my shoe so I can feel the board better”
PERSONA ‘ T H E PRO FES S ION AL RIDER’ L I F E S T Y L E This rider had his dreams come true when he became sponsored by a wakeskating company. He now spends his time traveling the world f inding new “hittable” gems hidden in remote corners of the Earth. His goal is to challenge what we all know about wakeskating, and bring something new to this sport. Between new
locations and new tricks, this rider is always training for new competitions. He takes his role in the sport very seriously, but in other aspects, he likes to make sure he doesn’t take life too seriously. He’s about having fun, being a goof, exploring, pushing, and getting the most out of life by doing what he loves. Everyday.
“I’ve been skateboarding since I was 8, it was a natural step for me to find wakeskating, and when I did, I fell in love.” EQU IP ME N T
FR EQU E NCY I N NOVAT I O N SK IL L L E V E L
Since this is his life, he’s got the best equipment to help him be better than the rest.
M OO D B OA R D
WAKESKATIN G CON DI TI ON S There is a lot of conflicting needs in the sport of wakeskating. Cushioning vs. board feel, durable vs breathable, use in water vs. use in sand. There are a lot of conditions the footwear must be able to withstand in this extreme sport.
Starting from in the water requires the rider to prop their HEELS UP ON THE GRIP TAPE until the rope had enough tension to pull themselves up.
Many common tricks such as an ollie or kick flip involve sliding the lateral side of the FOOT ALONG THE GRIP TAPE surface of the board.
L AT ERAL
The sheer FORCE FROM LANDING pressures the sesamoid (the ball of your foot) against the medial and sole of the shoe. These places wear quickly after repeated force is applied.
ME D IA L
Often, riders who use a winch set-up spend a lot of time in rocky and sandy areas. DIRT AND DEBRIS GET INTO THE FOOTWEAR, which becomes especially uncomfortable in water.
E X P L O R AT I O N
The expliration of concepts surrounding wakeskating started with the interjection of the Adidas brand. From this point it was a matter of keeping my key criteria in mind based from my use analysis.
FINAL DESIGN
DESIGN F EATURES Zero-memory, long lasting, elastic rubber center line Cinch tight top line to keep debris out and secure a snug fit.
Neoprene rubber overmold as heel protection from grip tape & added stability
Sesamoid pressure reinforcement.
Iconic Adidas branding
Neoprene rubber overmold to protect from grip tape wear and landing forces.
COLOUR WAY S Original Colour Palette
Two-Tone Gradiemt Palette
Reversed overmold & sole colours
Single-Tone Colour Palette Minimal Modern Colour Palette
Reversed overmold & sole colours
THANK YOU
Kristine Vodon // Industrial Design // Graphic Design // www.vodondesign.com