2007 KicksGuide
Artist Series
Design of the Year

Brett Golliff
(Jan 2008)

      On a daily basis I think about what I am going to gain that day. Am I going to learn something new? What am I going to experience? What is going to affect me today? I believe that everything I do creates who I am. And who I am is what I create.

      Creating a shoe to me is not just drawing or having fun; it’s a challenge and a new experience every time. When I am issued a project I don’t start sketching immediately; I begin with a lot of thinking. Then I translate my thoughts into writing about what I want this project to be and where I want it to go. Sometimes that is the challenge; asking yourself what you want this project to be? It’s much easier to say what it is not going to be.

      Over the many years that I have dedicated to art and design I have learned what not to do many times. That’s the beauty about design its not about the finished project, its about what you learn from the project and take on to the next.

      Over the past 5 years of my life I went from loving and collecting shoes (high school), to consuming myself with knowledge on creating shoes (college), to graduating from just drawing to finally designing (designer.) It has been a long, strange, and sometimes challenging journey but very rewarding. I have learned a tremendous amount about this industry and even more about myself.

      As many of you know this board is a great learning tool for young aspiring designers and a helpful way to get your work noticed and critiqued. It took me a long time to make the finals on KG; I began submitting in 2005 and I made my first finals in 2007. So to even think that I won Design of The Year is so beautiful and surprising. I want to thank everyone that voted my Nike Positive design of the year, I really appreciate it.

      Until recently, I had been struggling with proportion. I always thought it would be much easier to understand this once I got into a company and really started working with samples. But this wasn't completely true; I have to get my drawing proportionate in order to send it out for the sample. So with this project I began to rethink how I create and started sketching in 3D. The way I do this is by taping up lasts, drawing on the tape and removing pieces of the tape to create the design; this is a valuable technique for me. It really allowed me to be able to understand what my lines are actually doing on the foot.

      For the story of my Nike Positive shoe I combined my biggest interests: sports (basketball); and the human anatomy. Outside of design I do a lot of fine art to keep myself inspired; a lot of painting and other illustration type work. One of my favorite subjects to draw is anatomy. It is so intriguing to me how muscle, tendon, and bone work and function together and is a beautiful aesthetic. I have tried many times before to use this aesthetic but I believe I was way to literal with it. With this project the lines are inspired from the spine but are subtle compared to my previous efforts.

      In closing, I would have to say this is by far my favorite group of renderings I have ever created. They may not be the best design; but it conveys what I was looking for. What I am reminded most about this project is how much fun I had with it and how much I learned from it... which is everything design is about.