Designing for Athletes

John Hoke: As vice president, chief design officer at Nike Inc., I lead a large global studio of designers to bring innovation and inspiration to athletes and consumers all over the world through design. Specifically, the products include performance footwear, street footwear, uniforms, athletic clothing, and accessories.

JH: I begin by listening to the athletes to understand their needs. Basketball players have different needs than runners, and runners than tennis players, and so forth. Then we sketch and make models using a variety of technologies, such as 3-D printing, and using different materials, such as foam. We get feedback about a model and refine it. Then finally, we go into production. Depending on the shoe, the process can take three months or two years.

JH: We use design to solve the problems athletes face in achieving whatever they want to achieve, whether it’s wanting to run faster or longer or something else. So a Nike designer has to have problem-solving skills and has to be able to listen to the athlete, understand what the problem is, and then solve that problem through drawing and the use of technology and models to bring the design to life.

JH: As a kid, I was a runner. One summer, when I was 12, I was relaxing on an air mattress in a pool thinking about how I could redesign my sneakers for better cushioning. I thought, “What if I could shrink two air mattresses and put them under my feet as I ran?” I sketched out some ideas and showed them to my dad. He encouraged me to send them to Nike. Believe it or not, they wrote back! They told me to contact them when I was older and ready to work for them. And that’s exactly what I did.

JH: My ability to collaborate has been a huge factor in my success. And the ability to collaborate is even more important for young designers today—to understand that they can make something better as a team than they can as individuals.

JH: One of the coolest things about my job is when I’m traveling and I stop in some city and see a kid wearing our shoes. That is pretty special because I see all the fruit of our work come to life in the real world. I’m also very lucky in that I have a job that doesn’t feel like a job. Instead, it feels like an opportunity to explore, play, and dream every day!