CR Blog
Nike78 is a design project initiated by soon-to-be LCC graduate Paul Jenkins, who has given 78 pairs of Nike shoes out to designers and creatives internationally and asked them to "challenge the function of a pair of Nike shoes". The results are now up in an online gallery.
The project came about after the LCC was offered a selection of shoes by Nike that were leftover from its 1948 concept store, for a student to use in a project. Jenkins came up with the idea to use the shoes to encourage new design ideas. In devising the list of collaborators, he drew on the knowledge he attained while interning in Berlin as part of the LCC 'year in industry' that selected students on the BA Graphic and Media Design take part in. "Whilst I was interning in Berlin, my night job was sourcing creative talent worldwide," says Jenkins. "I didn't want Nike78 to be just another creative project with the same people and the same styles of work produced. Instead I invited people who from their style/work/projects I could see had a touch of conceptual excellence."
A selection of the resulting concepts are shown here. Shown top is Wieden + Kennedy TokyoLAB's contribution, which sees a Nike shoe reconfigured as a fish tank. A film of the shoe-tank in action is shown above. "The shoes we received were Nike Air Max 360, which emphasises the air in the soles more than any other Nike shoe," say W+K TokyoLAB. "So we decided to create something based on the concept of air. What we did was keep the soles filled with air as is, but take off the upper part of the shoe and use it to mould a clear material into that shape. This became an aquarium for goldfish."
Adrian Newell used his shoe to create a typeface that could be used to represent Nike. "I used the soles of the shoe to create prints and based the typeface on the digital timer seen at the end of the 100m track," he says.
Erica Dorn and This Is Studio took a more homely approach, creating a cake and a pair of knitted Nike shoes respectively. Dorn describes her 'Marathon Cake' as "the edible negative calorific equivalent of a full-length marathon". Yum.
Niek Eijsbouts of KesselsKramer ad agency in Amsterdam wrote a number of poems inspired by his shoes, one of which is shown above.
Dan Mather, by contrast, transformed his Nikes into cycling shoes compatible with clipless/SPD pedals.
Matthew Dent used the materials and textures of his Nike shoe to create a book filled with characters running the marathon.
Riitta Ikonen and Ian Wright collaborated for the project, using their Nike shoes to create these fashionable masks. "An athletically challenged and visually impaired pair, we went for sporting the face rather than the body," they say.
The rest of the outcomes of the project can be viewed online at nike78.co.uk. Jenkins will also be exhibiting many of them at a showcase of the project at this year's London Design Festival in September.
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21 Comments
Amazing work! Really well done Paul.
2010-06-01 17:04:22
yeah spiffing. Jolly good show.
2010-06-01 18:52:46
so cool!
2010-06-02 01:43:37
You can see more of the NIKE78 project here:
http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2010/06/78-artists-turn-kicks-into-creations.html
enjoy!
2010-06-02 05:41:21
Awesome idea, really like the book made from the materials of the shoe.
Great post, thanks.
2010-06-02 11:23:32
Yes nice outcomes - but I don't understand all the participating designers wanted to do this work for free.
Nike didn't pay a dime! I know this as I was asked to participate myself. Though great free advertising for a global giant like NIKE.
2010-06-02 14:27:40
Yes nice outcomes - but I don't understand all the participating designers wanted to do this work for free.
Nike didn't pay a dime! I know this as I was asked to participate myself. Though great free advertising for a global giant like NIKE.
2010-06-02 14:42:33
nice jail O_o
2010-06-02 14:47:02
In response to J.
Maybe they wanted to do it for free simply because they love to create? It's nice to know not every creative is driven by money but buy a love for what they do.
It's as much an advert for creativity as it is for Nike.
2010-06-02 15:39:56
LOVE this post. Some superb takes on a trainer. Especially like the book and goldfish bowl. Nice one CR! Think you were probably hoping for a lego one though weren't you...
2010-06-03 16:13:36
Yeah…maybe next time you could give some shoes to the people who make them, seeing as they can't afford them, themselves…it's vacuous, banal and dumb Corporate cheerleading like this project that gives Design and designers a bad name. But hey it's cool innit?!
2007 pre-tax profits Increase in profits 2004-7
Nike $2.2 billion 52%
Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker earned for 2006 a salary of $1.14 million, received a bonus of $1.29 million, and received more than $2 million in restricted stock awards and other compensation.
Some workers at Yue Yuen factories in China, averaging 10-12 hour work days to produce sports shoes for major sportswear brands are paid only approx. US$0.53 an hour (RMB900/month). Workers at one Yue Yuen subcontractor in the area receive just US$71-86 a month (RMB500-600) – less than the legal minimum – despite working 12-13 hours a day.
In March, 2008 workers at Tae Kwang Vina factory in Vietnam that produces shoes for Nike, were earning approximately US$63/month.
With this level of income a worker cannot even cover their daily expenses. In 2007 there was a 9.5% inflation rate on basic goods.
2010-06-03 16:16:47
Glad to read the last comment
I wish Nike was a company that stood for paying a living wage ,Outsourcing accountability and proper work ethics.
Mario A
2010-06-04 14:48:45
Meh. As impressive as the creative talent at work here may be, the fact that these people accepted to work for free with no other purpose than to promote a giant corporation leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
Sure, the results may be "cool". But this remains a scandalously frivolous project and if it elicits much enthusiasm at all from the design community, that will put the next nail in our profession's coffin...
Not to mention the figures Noel Douglas posted are simply scandalous.
2010-06-04 15:01:34
Thanks for the comments above - Projects like this is indeed another nail in our profession's coffin.
Have a bit of Tea & Cake to Noel Douglas comment @ Tea & Cake
2010-06-04 15:22:18
Nike simply provided products to be used in the projects independently and gave permission for their name to be used by a young, ambitious student as part of his degree.
Conclusion: Massive exploitation, obviously.
2010-06-04 17:22:53
Rather than getting hung up with the ethical issues regarding a company such as Nike perhaps what is more important is the 'young ambitious student' and his approach to the project. A creative innovative project, well executed by a lad clearly going places. If we're talking of exploitation, it was certainly not Paul that was exploited, if anything it was him doing some exploitation himself. To get a company to supply him with the products and exploit press, media, and a plethora of design talent to raise his own profile and further his career seems like a job well done for a student still at university. But what do i know im just a student. Well done Paul..
2010-06-06 17:30:13
A really great Grad Show project, designers love to get involved in these kind of projects and push the boundaries. By taking an everyday object and questioning the function of it.
2010-06-07 16:27:17
So in summary:
Design student gets other established creatives to do his work for him.
Design student creates nothing.
A job in PR awaits.
2010-06-18 13:40:04
Sito Bikkembergs smart Sneaker Featuring the modern day time and inspiring design
2011-06-01 09:36:34
Not really that creative in my opinion.
Only the masks showed some original design ideas
2011-06-26 17:46:21
I love the gold fish Nike Shoes, my trainers aren't too far off that after being caught in a storm out running last week!
2011-06-27 20:55:43
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