NIKE AIR DEVELOPMENT

BRIEF

For my examination as part of the Graphic Communication course studied at A-level, I was challenged to create content inspired by my own motive whilst conforming to the theme of “Flaws, perfections, ideals and compromises”.

When I was initially introduced to the theme, I originally thought of how we as humans set out to conceal our flaws in an attempt to achieve perfection. However we do not always reach our ideals, and often have to settle with compromises.

At first I chose to go down the route of apparel, but ultimately went with trainers (sneakers).

CONCEPT

My concept was to display a striped back version of an iconic silhouette. These being; Nike Air Force 1, Air Max 1, and Air Huarache. This would include displaying all of the trainer’s components and panels.

I planned to display all of these parts in an exploded view. This view is a technical drawing most often used within engineering to show how parts fit together.

My assumption was that when viewers say the deconstructed trainer, they would have to take the time to visually reconstruct it within their mind. They would also realise that the trainer is made up of varying elements that they may not have witnessed before; allowing them to see it from a new, alternate angle.

RESEARCH/INSPIRATION

I firstly split my research into two main topics; exploded view, and trainers deconstructed.

Exploded view:
Exploded views are technical drawings that show components of an object slightly separated by distance, or suspended in surrounding space in the case of a three-dimensional exploded diagram.

Trainers deconstructed:
My research for trainers deconstructed included attempting to find a fabric pattern/template. When I came to the conclusion that this was extremely unlikely I made an effort to obtain images containing previously deconstructed trainers.

DEVELOPMENT

Using the assets accumulated from my research and my developed understanding of technical drawings, I set off to create the base of my design.

Firstly, I took pictures of the trainers that I would be deconstructing. Technical drawings are usually shown in an isometric projection, which is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions. It is an axonometric projection in which the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened and the angle between any two of them is 120 degrees. To simulate this look through taking a picture I had to position my camera by rotating it 45 degrees around the z-axis, and a further 45 degrees around the x=z-axis. I also had to take the image from as far away as possible to keep the correct proportions.

Once I had taken the image, I printed it, and placed it over a light box. Using tracing paper I sketched over each panel/element utilised on the trainer. I did this for each element. I found difficulty in tracing partially obscured elements, or elements which were completely hidden from view. In these cases I would simply draw where I estimated that the part would be, assisted by my knowledge of the trainer, the number of elements, and photographs from the opposite side.

Now that I had all of the elements sketched on their own piece of tracing paper I scanned them in with the original picture behind them for reference.

At this point I was ready to open up Adobe Illustrator and place in the images which I had scanned. Once placed, I used the pen tool to outline the panels and sole. I used the gradient tool to give the panel more accurate shading and shadows, and experimented with the stroke and dash of lines to simulate stitching.

I then created the background, which consists of a pattern made entirely from the Nike logo. Other elements which I would later on include on the page include; a title (made using the futura typeface), a sidebar (displaying shape and quantity of panels), and a disclaimer.

FEEDBACK

Whilst I had originally received heaps of positive comments, I still had elements which I could improve on. The first of which being that I did not have lines connecting elements, which you typically see on technical drawings. Secondly, I had no call to action.

AMENDMENTS

Whilst I received feedback which called that I add in lines and a call to action, I also added in the price of the trainers. I felt that this would allow viewers to think of the trainer as more of a toy that you could construct yourself.

UPDATES

In September 2019 I was expanding my skills by learning how to write in HTML, CSS, and Javascript. This would allow me to create websites that include interactive components.

This led to the idea of creating a parallax which responds to the users location on the page. This can currently be seen within my online portfolio.