TECNICA FORGE: Part 1, The Design phase

It started with a BLANK PAGE but with a great technology. The C.A.S. 

I believe every designer wish to start one day a project with a Team of experienced individuals. A sum of people strong enough to set a vision, to raise a challenging venture, to open their mind, to accept the discomfort of the critics and shift to a new generation of products. 

This is the very first time that I can directly witness the support of a founder, his son, the Tecnica group CEO, the head of marketing in sponsoring all together this initiative from nothing to what follows.

When there is a blank page, Design has a solid responsibility. This manifesto represents the base study, the main philosophy of the whole story. 

In this particular case, Experience is key but not only. This page states the new umbrella of the Footwear initiative and the design language,  

At Tecnica, we took a wide wet sponge and wiped out the black board. we erased the stereotypical style that composed the last 20 years of the outdoor footwear styles.

We questioned why an outdoor shoe is supposed to be designed with zig-zagging side supports and a band that runs from the heel to the forefoot with a name written over.

It doesn't matter the brands, it became an outdoor footwear classic invented by NIKE footwear designers back in the 80's and slowly stolen by the whole market just because it made sense at that time. A future article will soon follow.

The Logo, Maybe the content of a probable next article. I developed a full content of logo winners and losers study that moved us away of the outdoor stereotype.

We took base on the historic logotype of the the Tecnica brand. We decided to celebrate the brand's comeback with a slight touch of character through the analogy of the ICE PICK

 

Consequent to back and forth discussions, logo iterations, we projected the T "spada" over different silhouettes considering the position, the sizes and the left and right sides.

Unlike an F or a P, we have been lucky to build from a mirrored friendly letter which doesn't suffer from a logo inclination. The goal was: the T has to be perceived in whatever situation.

Design language is about cohesive message and brand consistency.

Cohesive because the whole project is built around the foot customization. Once the words CUSTOM and FIT were pronounced, The anatomy had to be initiatory.

Brand consistency consisted to import the dots language created by the ski boot department in the scope of the horizontal technology message. 

It all start with the foot.....it all start and last with the last.

Nothing new here in theory but everything new in the outdoor field because the most important asset of the project is in this picture above. 

All I can say is: This last is the result of decades of tries and errors. We took 4 different lasts proven areas to turn the outcome as maybe the most comfy volume of the trekking world.

Inspiration page born form the manifesto. A trekking shoe which fits like a football shoe, lace like a training shoe, grips better than an average product, finer and  richer than a conventional trekking boot.  

One of the exploration chart designed in meeting with all actors with the picture in color and the built-in ground adapt sandwich.

One point here, The best projects I have been involved-in are the ones where the Genesis of the product is built together, where testing pattern engineering and development are taken into account as high as design and marketing. 

Parity and Respect with collaborators are the ground zero of the inaugural but actors competencies and self motivations are key to success. 

Final concept rendering of the FORGE selected by the collegial approval crew. We planned to address one product only, a nubuck version. 

The rendering shows an upper made with a full grain leather, we even thought of a Kangaroo leather upper. But the market reality centered us back. 

The style of product had to be clean and easy to understand. Simplicity enriched with a sum a small details, a kind of answers to the athleleisure trend still with serious technical features. 

This product was thought to be best suitable out in the mountain, down to the city with unparalleled comfort.

 

What if we try a full fabric version? 

This is the selected final rendering still Gore-tex featured FORGE S,  We had pro and cons discussions along the development of the project. Is the market ready for a double Trekking boot introduction?  

Again Tecnica took the risk of launching a boot that distinguish itself from the market and assumed the "sport character" of this version that became later the flagship boot.

Vibram supported our initiative in driving, counseling and approving our design submission. They granted us their Mega-grip rubber formula.

The dotted areas are representing the customization areas, these very parts of the boots that will fully adapt to every individual malleoles, heel and arch of the foot.

The Forge and the Forge S are offering a fully adaptable inlay sole. 

The Forge and the Forge S are offering an overlap upper with the benefit of adapting to the anatomy of the user and break free of points of pressure. 

The Forge and the Forge S are offering an auto blocking lacing system created by the friction that occurs in between the kevlar reinforced fabrics laces and loops. 

The principle assure the adjustment in the vamp area while easing the collar closure.

The FORGE S, The Flagship boot

The whole collection, men and women, leather and Synthetic versions. 12 colors for a launch.

The Tecnica Forge project is one of the rare privilege offered to a designer. A talented team, a supportive top management, a blank page, a new design language, the best subside technologies, a new generation of product in a conservative segment. 

Could I ask for more?

A SINGULAR SHAPE

You either like it or hate it, but this shoe is an Icon. For multiple reasons, this shoe offers the legendary Adidas Ultra Boost 2015 sole to its maximum, hundred time copied but never equalled.  

Echoe to the other written topic about silhouette, this shoe has an unique shape, given first by the full adidas Boost compound which gives a continuous "rolling" attitude but also and mostly the singular shape at the back of the collar.

Lets have a closer look at this singular shape. This "design driven" shape has a true function: the curved shapes offers a great freedom of movement for more dynamic comfort. Less rubbing in the achilles area.

What the story doesn't tell is how this shape was already studied at Adidas Outdoor by 2009 by the design group driven by their talented design director: Christian Zwinger. 

With these two pictures, the emphasis was, as well given to the back collar area and at the tongue area.

In 2016, here comes a big surprise to me....the sign that time seems to change. Is there a reversed or inverted balance in the footwear design universe ? 

Here is one 2016 iteration of the Nike KOBE Nike has been for years at the forefront of innovation, shapes, daring forms or singular tries that wrote their product line history. even if my disk is full of examples, I have not enough room here to show the variety of models designed the latest 20 years, all categories included. 

The brand Nike, officially the main trend setter of the segment for decades, the one copied by the rest of the world, still copied today, seems to find inspiration in its rival Adidas with its most iconic shoe to its modern era. the case is rare enough to be shared. some will elude the topic upon the different product category.

We are in 2017, the year of the Nike Pegasus 34th, an incremental evolution of the franchise. Not much to say as minor modifications are occurring, most of them at the upper level as the tooling is carried over from the 33 rd and the main material plus color story is linked to the Breaking 2 product launch.

This is the promise of the Nike Pegasus 35, what we call in our business a Total New, new upper apparently made out of an engineered Jacquard materials and a new heel shaped midsole in synchrony with the shapes used in the Breaking 2 project (also soon visible with the next generation of Tennis Vapor 10). I suspect also a new Last as the shoe curves way more than the former generations. so far another incremental evolution of the 34 th sister. 

All pictures here are found on internet. But this picture appears to be the one of an early prototype, because.....  

The one Nike Pegasus 35 that seems to be official, confirms the sign that time seems to change at Nike creative board. 

The world is tiny sometimes. I discovered two days ago that John Whiteman, my ex team mate at Adidas Innovation Team, belonged to the squad which identified the need to release the achilles areas. his quote: 

"that shape came completely from the concept of freeing the achilles area. On the original version, the heel lining actually folded totally over the top at the achilles area with no seam in the central 30mm or so and formed the outside lining as well. That combined with the external counter (slightly inspired by the old equipment heel counters)  gave that kicked shape".

This isn't an attempt here, John's Portfolio is rich enough, worth a full article. 

back to our topic, at the question:

Is there a reversed or inverted balance in the footwear design universe ? I believe yes.

Am I disappointed to see iconic Pegasus pulling the back collar of iconic adidas Ultra boost ? yes indeed. and you?

E.V.A, THE BEGINNING OF THE END? THE PRECURSORS

2008 and 2012 are two important years in our sporting-good industry, Because these are first of all Olympic years. 

Secondly, every Olympic year unveils methods and innovations dedicated to the higher sport venue. 

In our Microscope, these two years are marking the rise of the precursors of the EVA replacement.

Brooks sports and NIKE are the ball opener in 2008, Scott and Adidas are the ride experience provider of the year 2012. See below, their story and promises. 

2008 Brooks Sports, Inc. announced that BioMoGo, the world’s first biodegradable midsole, is now available to consumers in the new Trance™ 8 premium support shoe. 

Brooks designed BioMoGo to biodegrade 50 times faster than conventional athletic shoe midsoles, making it one of the most significant sustainable technologies.   

 

later in 2012, Brooks created DNA, an innovative and uniquely adaptive cushioning system. By adapting to specific weight, pace, gait and running surface, DNA is promised to offer customized cushioning and adds a spring to runners steps.

Traditional cushioning takes a one-size-fits-all approach, but people at Brooks claim to know that each runner is different. Brooks DNA was developed to continuously tailor the level of cushioning to runners specific needs – even as they change during the run.

Brooks DNA is made up of a highly viscous non-Newtonian material or more simply put, a material that adapts to the specific force runners apply to it. 

Part of the brilliance is that this compound was engineered to perform at the molecular level (picture millions of resilient 'nanosprings').

2008 NIKE Lunarlon cushioning features a soft, yet resilient, foam core that is encased within a supportive foam carrier for lightweight, ultra-plush cushioning, springy response and support.

The innovative Lunarlon foam, invented by Nike, is 30 percent lighter than traditional Phylon and allows the force of impact to be more evenly distributed, which helps reduce painful pressure points on feet.

With Brooks and Nike technologies, I confess, it is hard for specialists, maybe real hard to consumer to distinguish a difference in between traditional compress molded EVA (Brooks case) or injected EVA (Nike case). 

There is certainly a felt experience with the softer encapsulated but invisible Lunar foam, while Brooks teases us with our ecologic awareness more than direct experience with a dramatic change of technical/physical product behavior.

I don't know if Adidas spotted the early weaknesses of his competitors?

But this simple close up of the Boost foam, visible, palpable, makes a courageous difference.

December 2012, Adidas claims the Boost TPU midsole has many benefits over the traditional EVA technology. 

EVA is a responsive material that compresses with each step and rebounds to return energy to the foot. 

Over time, EVA can wear down, requiring the runner to invest in a new pair of shoes

Boost technology eliminates this problem with thousands of energy capsules that store and release energy only when it’s needed— without losing integrity.

Boost technology eliminates another problem. your winter and summer runs have an incredible effect on traditional EVA, the colder the tougher, the hotter, the softer. 

With its formula, boost guarantee a similar ride.

I spent over 16 years of duty, a certain amount of time middle cutting shoe midsoles, wondering about constructions and additive cushioning systems. 

I always wondered how a runner can really benefit from the promises of performance given by the brands? 

before being in contact with the star compound,  I realized the numbers of fine layers you need to endure before being in contact to THE Promise. 

Bonding surfaces included, an average 100 $ shoe has 7 material layers over the midsole. This Picture tells how Adidas engineers paid another attention to increase as much as possible the closer contact to the foot. 

December 2012, Working with athletes, Scott always hear that they would like to run in lighter shoes, but are not willing to sacrifice any cushioning performance. 

So, they, (Together with I-Generator: engineering and design firm in Portland OR) found an alternative to the EVA foam used in most running shoes. 

SCOTT Aero Foam combines lightweight materials with a wear resistant compound, resulting in shoes that are lighter, have more cushioning and last longer than traditional running shoes. 

Again, I point out the difference in visible and tactile sensation compare to traditional EVA including outer surfaces of the Nike Lunar or Brooks latest DNA/BioMoGo foams. 

Scott Precursive Stance is valuable, the 2013 Kinabalu has been a very surprising ride experience at the Austin Running Event fair.

E.V.A, THE BEGINNING OF THE END? Part 1 : INDUSTRY REMINDER

Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), also known as poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) (PEVA), is the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. The weight percent vinyl acetate usually varies from 10 to 40%, with the remainder being ethylene.

EVA is an elastomeric polymer that produces materials which are "rubber-like" in softness and flexibility. The material has good clarity and gloss, low-temperature toughness, stress-crack resistance, hot-melt adhesive waterproof properties, and resistance to UV radiation. EVA has a distinctive vinegar-like odor and is competitive with Polyurethane in footwear applications. (source Wikipedia)

Footwear industry, back to the mid 70's envisioned the EVA Material as a solution in order to improve the overall comfort of active footwear. The first generations of running shoes fitted with EVA looked pretty much like the picture above. Mizuno Sky Race 1995 

The upper were generally a Mocassin construction, lasted in the forefoot over a dye-cut EVA Midsole and rubber outsole. The down-side of the cutting process lies in its binary look. An austere sand paper look.

In the same decade, I have been told That Brooks Sport were the very first company to compress- mold the EVA instead of the common dye-cut process. 

Unfortunately, I cannot prove myself right as I am still looking for the proven facts and Brooks doesn't seem to communicate this part of their history. 

This molding process opened a vast world of creativity in term of function and design. The heat of the mold melted the sand paper looked surface and turned it into a thin soft skin. We suddenly could create shapes and lines easily.

The other main material player of the 70's and 80's is the POLYURETHANE full sole as for the Adidas zx 8000 produced in 1988/89. 

The POLYURETHANE had fantastic characteristics of shape memory, due to its formula. The EVA is still generally loosing its dampening quality way faster than POLYURETHANE does. 

EVA has a minor density which makes it by far lighter than POLYURETHANE of that era. The Other downside of the POLYURETHANE were found in its weak resistance in keeping its original color (yellowing effect) and poor performance in Hydrolysis. Most of you might remember the midsoles breaking and powdering.

Once the compression molding process democratized, most Brands were sometimes combining EVA and POLYURETHANE in order to get the best of the two materials, mainly for functional reasons. 

In this case, Nike with the Nike Pegasus 1988 took the advantage of EVA for an overall lighter product at the forefoot. The POLYURETHANE guaranteed a long lasting heel cushioning. The air wedge embedding process also needed a POLYURETHANE environment until late year 2000.

1987 showed an other design/functional approach: a Stabilizer chassis called RSD. The Molding process of either EVA or POLYURETHANE (in this case) could fit with precision, different quality of Polymers together. Adidas ZX 820 Women.

Here is Another solution found at Adidas in order to improve the durable performance of EVA. 

A web was bonded over the EVA from top to the side of the midsole for a trampoline effect.

The story doesn't tell if this idea inspired brand SAUCONY for their GRID system, or vice versa? 

In a world of technologies, it is interesting to see how foams, in particular EVA and POLYURETHANE became a kind of a given standard to the average customer.  Here the nike air Max 1994.

Lets take the thought further, I would even see those foams as a platform of other visible technologies that became over time the more valuable additive systems and more precious in people's mind than the foam itself.  

I think it is an unfair lack of recognition to the foam. 

The visible air Max unit and its little sister the non visible forefoot air wedge were only additive richness and function to the product, never the reason why the shoe was more comfortable. 

until Adidas spring blade 2012 and Nike Vapor max 2016 , no active shoe cushioning system was available without foam.

Another example of foam being an interface in between the foot and the ground. Reebok Opus 3d foam 1997. 

Reebok gave a durability challenge to the EVA foam by removing the Rubber and claiming the foam is durable enough to withstand friction. 

But the stars of the picture are the Graphlite plate made of composite fibers and the unexpected shaped upper. 

Complex Mold processes, proved how the EVA is somehow flexible in combination of different characteristics. 

This Puma offers 5 variety of EVA within the same midsole, the M cell being bouncy, the O cell being cushy, a medial post being harder the white overall foam being medium and the ISS co molded plate for midfoot stability.

This shoe images the end of an era, the Lego blocks answering biomechanics in selected areas have been the pinnacle of the EVA combined evolution, far more complex than the dye-cut process. 

One question Though, was it better?