We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Florian Seidl about their original and creative trail running shoe design work. Florian Seidl is an award-winning fashion designer, that makes our world a better place with their original trail running shoe works.
Florian Seidl ("FS") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Kateem trail running shoe. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
FS : I guess the main idea lies in the creation of a running shoe with a flexible and protective exoskeleton made from semi-rigid 3D textile panels.
FS : It was very important for me to creat a good looking and special design for a trail running shoe that combines an adequate formal expression with exceptional ergonomics.
FS : There are currently no specific plans to develop Kateem further.
FS : Kateem was developed and refined step by step on long evenings and during weekends. This lengthy process was finished in 2015 in Turin, Italy.
FS : It was a self motivated "just-for-fun" project.
FS : Kateem is currently only a private free time project. It would be nice to see what could be done though...
FS : I really like modern footwear design. I have seen many inspitrational and really cool projects and wanted to see what I could do.
FS : There are many different influences, but not one in particular.
FS : I'd imagined the target customer profile as male, between 15 and 40 years old. He'd be living in Europe or North America, has an active lifestyle and a well developed brand awareness. He is thirsty for adventure, enjoys sport in general and loves running.
FS : Its's orange. :)
FS : It's a word play on letters, pronunciation and form language.
FS : The design process involved everything from analog and digital sketching to rough volumetric foam models and also a proper clay modeling phase.
FS : New manufacturing technologies and materials are very important for this concept. The design does however build also on well-established and proven footwear technology to create an innovative product with exceptional performance.
FS : I got some very valuable feedback from colleagues and friends. Not much else.
FS : The project combines proven know-how and new materials and technology. The traditional lacing system and overall construction is combined with new elements like the carbon fiber toe cap, the stretchy exoskeleton (made from woven 3D textile mesh panels) and the custom 3D printed insole that guarantees a perfect fit for every individual foot and every runner.
FS : The concept is based on personal research analysing the market segment, the main competitors, the target group and relevant trends. Special focus was also put on ergonomics/anthropometrics and current and future materials and production techniques in the field of sneaker and sport shoe design. This research is mainly based on articles, literature review and interviews with experts. The findings were then transformed and translated in a tangible real world clay model and then refined in an extended formal research phase.
FS : The main challenge for a project that is so closely related to the human body is the right balance between ergonomic and functional requirements and the desired formal expression.
FS : Friends ahve participated before and I wanted to give it a go.
FS : I learned a lot about current sneaker design and also found out that casting a last from a real foot can be rather tricky/dangerous.
FS : That's all.
