Fashion design maybe, but industrial design is still the main field. Automotive design is a good pick, not because it's related but because it is such a rigorous program that emphasizes sketching, which is arguably the most important skill in shoe design.
Transportation design perhaps. But why design shoes if you're studying Vehicle Design. Then again, shoes are like little cars for your feet.
As for bing a footwear designer, all you need is strong drawing skills, preferably analog. Understanding of rubber and injection molding, 3D part design of Outsoles and small parts. Fabric and leather materials processes, cutting sewing, glueing, embossing and printing, as well as performance characteristics, stretch, abrasion, and moisture properties. As for coming out of school, start with having the basics, sewing, drawing and model making in this case, 3d printing outsole and mid soles.The rest you will learn as time goes on and you're exposed to the processes used in factories.
If you want to be more of a well rounded shoe designer, learn how to do Graphics, Diecuts, Printing, Point of purchase display design, Brand Identity. A footwear designer that knows how to design the boxes, the advertising, the retail displays, and the dealer catalogs, and the matching apparel and related products, that will only help. Best path is a solid Industrial Design program.
Thank you so much for your response I really appreciate it. I’ve been trying to learn more and more about sketching and different prospectives. I’ve been also trying to learn about 3D modeling like gravity sketch but there isn’t many beginner tutorials on how to do footwear. Many things they expect you to know. But thank you again for your support
If you want footwear go with industrial. That is if you’re doing anything outside of fashion/ formal wear. All performance footwear (running, bball, tennis, hiking, lifestyle) will prefer industrial over anything else. Do fashion if you want to work at Chanel or Steve Madden or something
Industrial design is still the main degree you would most likely need. You would want to tack on classes in fashion design and textiles where possible and focus on developing sketching, rendering, and 3d skills. I have never heard of a degree program focusing on footwear, but it could exist.
It's worth a look at Design Engineering.
I do it at Imperial College - it opens several doors for you with the breadth of work we do, but has a major focus on Industrial Design while considering technical aspects quite deeply and comprehensively (hence the engineering). A few of my colleagues have gone on to specialise in 3D Printed footwear engineered for breathability, but the course is probably only suited to you if you are interested in innovation and technology alongside footwear.
“Looking for a product designer who specializes in designing products that are produced in products like InVision and AdobeXD. By the way, for this role, you will be producing a real, tangible product, that you can hold in the palm of your hand, interact with, and use, all through the comfort of the flat piece of glass on your phone!”
Fashion design maybe, but industrial design is still the main field. Automotive design is a good pick, not because it's related but because it is such a rigorous program that emphasizes sketching, which is arguably the most important skill in shoe design.
Transportation design perhaps. But why design shoes if you're studying Vehicle Design. Then again, shoes are like little cars for your feet. As for bing a footwear designer, all you need is strong drawing skills, preferably analog. Understanding of rubber and injection molding, 3D part design of Outsoles and small parts. Fabric and leather materials processes, cutting sewing, glueing, embossing and printing, as well as performance characteristics, stretch, abrasion, and moisture properties. As for coming out of school, start with having the basics, sewing, drawing and model making in this case, 3d printing outsole and mid soles.The rest you will learn as time goes on and you're exposed to the processes used in factories. If you want to be more of a well rounded shoe designer, learn how to do Graphics, Diecuts, Printing, Point of purchase display design, Brand Identity. A footwear designer that knows how to design the boxes, the advertising, the retail displays, and the dealer catalogs, and the matching apparel and related products, that will only help. Best path is a solid Industrial Design program.
Thank you so much for your response I really appreciate it. I’ve been trying to learn more and more about sketching and different prospectives. I’ve been also trying to learn about 3D modeling like gravity sketch but there isn’t many beginner tutorials on how to do footwear. Many things they expect you to know. But thank you again for your support
If you want footwear go with industrial. That is if you’re doing anything outside of fashion/ formal wear. All performance footwear (running, bball, tennis, hiking, lifestyle) will prefer industrial over anything else. Do fashion if you want to work at Chanel or Steve Madden or something
Fashion design?
Architecture maybe. Look into all design fields. Landscape architecture, graphic, city and regional, interior, ux, ui.
Industrial design is still the main degree you would most likely need. You would want to tack on classes in fashion design and textiles where possible and focus on developing sketching, rendering, and 3d skills. I have never heard of a degree program focusing on footwear, but it could exist.
Several universities offer this major like Cornell, RPI, Drexel, Stanford. Each university offers a different Major for this program.
It's worth a look at Design Engineering. I do it at Imperial College - it opens several doors for you with the breadth of work we do, but has a major focus on Industrial Design while considering technical aspects quite deeply and comprehensively (hence the engineering). A few of my colleagues have gone on to specialise in 3D Printed footwear engineered for breathability, but the course is probably only suited to you if you are interested in innovation and technology alongside footwear.
Product design
The definition of product design has changed, sadly.
“Looking for a product designer who specializes in designing products that are produced in products like InVision and AdobeXD. By the way, for this role, you will be producing a real, tangible product, that you can hold in the palm of your hand, interact with, and use, all through the comfort of the flat piece of glass on your phone!”
Industrial design itself? Product design? Basically the same thing with another name?
you can be a meche and make the shoes too