SNEAKER DESIGN

Meet your instructor, understand how the course works, what you’ll create along the way, and what success looks like, so you can focus less on logistics and more on doing great work.

• Instructor intro
• Assignments overview
• Course outcomes 

Get a clear, end-to-end view of how a sneaker comes to life, from first idea to finished pair. You’ll learn who’s involved, how the process flows, and understand the right parts, materials, and construction language designers and factories use.

• How does a shoe get made?
• Partners & process
• Components & materials
• Construction types: Lasting & tooling molding methods

Figure out who you’re designing for and why they need this sneaker. You’ll zoom in on a real consumer, spot a clear problem worth solving, and define how your concept is genuinely newer, better, or different — setting a confident foundation for your capstone.

• Consumer identification
• Product need
• Capstone project overview

Set the vibe before you set the details. Define a clear product mood, break down real case studies, and build a metaphor-driven mood board (movie, celebrity, restaurant) that becomes the north star for every sneaker design decision that follows.

• Defining the mood & attitude
• Case Studies: Mood boards, metaphor

Assignment #1: Identify a consumer and a product need, set the mood (sleek, tech, gritty, gnarly, etc.).

Explore before you commit. You’ll sketch fast, try multiple sneaker directions, and experiment to see what works. By the end, you’ll have clear visual options and the confidence to explain why one direction deserves to move forward.

• Defining multiple solution paths
• Hand sketching & Illustrator/Photoshop
• Demo: Sketching technique & approach

Assignment #2: Define and visualize three different paths.

Push your sneaker concepts further by sketching, collaging, and blending ideas with both hand, digital, and AI tools. Compare iterations, refine directions, and discover which designs speak to your mood and audience.

• Exploring multiple solution paths
• Hand sketching, Illustrator/Photoshop, MidJourney
• Demo: Sketching technique & approach

Sharpen your eye and your voice. Dissect early sneaker concepts, give and get practical feedback, spot what works and what doesn’t. Turn insights into actionable improvements for your capstone project.

• Volunteer concept presentation
• Critique & feedback 

Turn your concept into a clean design. Refine your sneaker’s silhouette, map out every view, and create polished line art that’s ready to show or build from, all while following an expert workflow.

• Variations
• Defining the views: Medial, top, down, outsole
• Creating a proper line art
• Demo: Variation & line art

Assignment #3: Create a range of variations for a product in sketch or thumbnail format.

Play with colors, materials, and layouts to see what works. Experiment with blocking options, pinpoint focal points, and test designs for impact and longevity using Illustrator and Vizcom AI.

• Blocking options
• Design viability & longevity
• Focal points
• Illustrator & Vizcom AI
• Demo: Blocking variations

Assignment #4: Create a range of seasonal color and material blockings that could span a two year lifecycle. Include on-body expressions of how the product will be worn.

Color tells a story. Learn to craft cohesive palettes, experiment with colorways, and use digital tools to see how your choices look on-body and in context, making every hue, material, and style choice speak..

• Palette development
• Colorways: Illustrator & Vizcom AI
• On-body illustrations: Photoshop & New Arc AI
• Demo: Approach to color 

Turn insights into impact. Learn to weave consumer and product research into a clear story, present design options with confidence, and make your ideas impossible for stakeholders to ignore.

• Building the narrative: Consumer & product
• Revealing the product: Views, context, options
• Case Study: Examples

Assignment #5: Create a presentation of your product.

Turn your sneaker ideas into reality. Learn how shoes are manufactured, from patterns and seams to tooling limits, and use that knowledge to evaluate whether your designs can actually be made.

• Overview of manufacturing processes
• Construction methods
• Seam types
• Basic pattern making
• Tooling constraints

Take a look at a fully detailed upper tech pack that speaks factory-ready. Learn how to illustrate every angle, tag materials and textures, map your patterns, and turn your design into clear instructions.

• Illustrating the views of the product: Upper
• Details, callouts, textures
• Shell pattern
• Material map

In this session, you’ll draft multi-view and section drawings, apply precise callouts and textures, and organize your tech pack so partners know exactly how to bring your ideas to life.

• Illustrating the multiple views: Tooling
• Section views
• Callouts & textures

Assignment #6: Create a tech pack (upper and tooling).

Explore the sneaker design world from every angle — spot trends, weigh career paths, and learn how to make your work and your story stand out. Get a clear strategy for portfolios, interviews, and personal branding that gets you noticed.

• Industry trends
• Future of sneaker design
• Career paths: Starting your own label vs. in-house vs. freelancing
• How to present yourself: Interview & portfolio tips 

Show off your capstone sneaker designs, explain your choices, and sharpen your eye by giving and receiving feedback — leaving with a clear path to level up your portfolio.

• Volunteer presentations
• Critique & feedback