FIT

A customized shoe sole that gives old sneakers a fresh look.

Overview

Fit is an online platform where you can customize outsoles made by recycled materials for your sneakers, enabling your shoes to be as unique and stylish as you want while avoiding pollution and overconsumption.

Timeline

10 weeks (2018-19)

Role

Product Designer

Tools

Sketch
Adobe Suite
(Ps, Ai, Ae, Xd, Pr)
Cinema 4D

Responsibilities

Problem Definition
Design Research
Product Design
UX/UI Design
3D Design
Art Direction

Challenge

Due to the fast fashion trend, the number of sneakers production has skyrocketed, leading to customers' WANT surpasses their NEED tremendously. This scenario subconsciously causes overconsumption, energy waste, and unbalanced resource allocation. Ironically, you can barely tell the changes between generations of sneakers.

Opportunity

How might we utilize online platforms to make sneakers look fresh and stylish in a way that has minimal waste possible?

design process

Research

User Interviews

I talked to over 20 subject matter experts, including sneaker collectors, brand founders, and bloggers. I was shocked by the number of sneakers that are bought but never worn on the re-sell market, and I also learned that if people have a preferred shoe style, people would be more likely to buy similar ones in the future.

Online Research

Athletic footwear market worth $95.14 billion by 2025; nearly doubling from its $55 billion dollar valuation in 2016, according to GRAND VIEW RESEARCH

Americans throw away at least 300 million pairs of shoes each year. These shoes end up in landfills, where they can take 30 to 40 years to decompose, according to WASTE 360.

Virgil Abloh, the designer of Nike x Off-White sneakers collaboration, said his approaches of design is only 3% each time.

Key Findings

Based on Virgle’s example, a slight change is enough to give sneakers a new life; however, the high demand must come along with excess production and pollution.

If we can manipulate the slight changes and add to our old sneakers, the excess waste will be reduced dramatically, and the sneakers can still have a fresh look, it's a win-win situation.