Few active footwear designers have as much experience and, I would argue, none has as prolific a portfolio as Wilson Smith. The designer of the Air Jordan XVII and Air Jordan XVI, amongst many other shoes, takes some time to talk to Prof. K about one of his more recent projects, the Jumpman Team FBI. While we're at it we also discuss MJ's influence and Wilson provides some sage advice for young people hoping to make their way into the industry.
by Professor K, posted May 2, 2003
Prof. K: With the Air Jordan it's straightforward in that there's a new shoe every year that comes out around Michael's birthday, but for the team shoes, how do you decide what a shoe is going to be and when it's going to come out?
Wilson: We want to make a Jordan team shoe that's going to work for all kinds of players. The Air Jordan is a lot more specific, it's Michael's shoe. The team shoe should work for a wide variety of players. So if we're doing more of a college shoe we could try to pick up on the excitement of March Madness and everything there or, if it's more of a pro approach, we may do it another time in the year. But with the team shoes we always want to express something fresh graphically and make it fun for the Jordan consumer to be able to wear it the ways that he wants to wear it... also to get different kinds of support depending on the different kind of player you are.
Prof. K: Is there any difference in the approach when you're doing more of a team shoe for pros vs. a college shoe?
Wilson: With the college shoe you also think about colors and just how they can really work with the teams. Sometimes there's a little more of a collegiate attitude, a little more energy and vitality to reflect the energy and vitality of the college game. And then the pro shoe may be more sophisticated, closer to what you do with the Air Jordan. So you have these different approaches to basketball, a lot of it's psychological depending on which level you're at.
Prof. K: Does it change the technology profile of the shoe at all?
Wilson: We put the best details we can possibly put into each shoe...each shoe kind of builds on the next. We try to bring the best technology from last season to the team shoe so we keep kind of building on it. We don't necessarily target a technology for a level per se, but we're always trying to get at the best thing out there.
figure 1. Shown here is an early sketch of the Jumpman Team FBI. Smith designed the FBI while transitioning from primarily hand drawn sketches to sketches created using a computer and, as a consequence, this sketch includes both hand drawn and computer generated elements. Note how close it is to the final, finished product as shown in figure 2.
Prof. K: In the case of the FBI, what came first; a design idea, a technology profile, a player profile...
Wilson:With the FBI we were thinking about a really good, clean team shoe. How could we create a pretty versatile shoe that a lot of players could wear? Kind of looking at the principles that Tate [Tate Kuerbis, design of the Air Jordan XVIII] was putting together on the Jordan XVIII and just basically wanting to relate to that. In fact Tate was even involved in some of the early concept sketches on the FBI. And we took some of those and we combined them with some things that I was looking at because I was thinking a lot about midfoot support...an optional midfoot strapping system...that seemed to make a lot of sense. So we kind of combined a couple of ideas together.
Prof. K: I was meaning to ask you about that. One of the things that I really liked about the design of the FBI was the way that it touched on some things from the XVIII in a really nice way, like the stitching and outsole pattern...
Wilson: Right, that whole kind of classic construction has become the story for the season for Jordan. We were really looking at classic construction. We used stitch lines that added extra support between the upper and the midsole. Tate had actually done an early concept of the XVIII which was applied to the FBI. A lot of truth from that concept was taken and then we created the midfoot story. That same kind of thing happens in the process of designing the Air Jordan...a lot of times you'll come up with a couple different shoes. Last year I did both the J'Madness and the XVII...they were both developed during the process of the Air Jordan. And so in the same way the XVIII played a big role in the FBI.
A lot of what's happening through here [Wilson gestures towards the upper of the FBI] is what was inspired by the XVIII and then this [the midfoot strap] became an extra support system for various types of players. One cool thing is that I've seen a lot of people wearing them with and without the strap. Michael actually wore them one game with the strap.
Prof. K: Did you know that Michael was going to wear the shoe, was he supposed to wear it?
Wilson: He really liked the shoe and Michael pretty much wears whatever he wants to. [Laughter] And he just wanted to wear it.
Prof. K: This is the first time he's worn a team shoe, isn't it?
Wilson: It might be. Part of the thing with Michael is that he just likes to change it up. He never wants to be pinpointed in any kind of a pattern per se...he's pretty creative. Last year, for example, with the XVII, he wore the Low a lot...in the All-Star Game and a lot during the year because the Low had almost as much support as a mid-cut. In fact that's a priority with our lows, we want to bring enough support to play in them.
figure 2. Shown here is the finished Jumpman Team FBI "in the flesh" with its removable midfoot strap in place. The simple, elegant design of the FBI is pure Jordan, as are the finely finished details that really make the shoe.
Prof. K: I actually thought that the Low performed better than the Mid.
Wilson: Yeah, sometimes you learn...once again, that's kind of that building on the design concept. I think we keep building from one shoe to the next.
Prof. K: Is it very different working on the Air Jordan...that must have been a really big challenge?
Wilson: It is a big challenge, but it's fun to really step up there to do it. I've had a lot of fun over the years here at Nike. I've been here about 20 years and have had the opportunity to work on a lot of different products. I worked on the tennis line for a number of years and I loved working on Andre Agassi's shoes, I had a great relationship there. It's great working with pro athletes, it's all about solving problems for them. And, whatever level shoe you design it is a challenge. I tell you, some of the $50 shoes are very hard compared to a $200 one like the XVII...they're all a challenge. But on the Air Jordan level you're mainly dealing with uncharted ground, which is pretty cool.
Prof. K: It's a different set of challenges...
Wilson: Yes, absolutely.
Prof. K: Was there anything in particular that inspired the FBI?
Wilson: Actually, I'd seen some high-end shoes from the past that had this really great midfoot strap. I started looking at what's the bare minimum thing you could do on a shoe. I mean you just have the laces and the strap to lock your foot down over the platform. So the inspiration was a minimal kind of approach — a clean upper, a clean shoe, and really just the simplicity of the XVIII. You know Michael had given us the charge of doing a one-piece upper, so the simplicity of that and then thinking "what else would you need for support?" So that was pretty much the whole idea, creating that strap and making a really simple, clean shoe.
So we were inspired a lot by what was happening on the Air Jordan XVIII game shoe, and Michael's influence about clean-ness and simplicity.
figure 3. Smith explains the function of the removable midfoot strap on a finished version of the Jumpman Team FBI. On the screen behind him are production sketches of the shoe in a few of its released colorways.
Prof. K: You had mentioned that the design for the FBI came really fast...
Wilson: Yes it did, it did come really fast.
[Tate Kuerbis walks over]
Wilson to Tate [holding the FBI and pointing to the midfoot strap]: You did the early concept to the XVIII and then this was the midfoot strap that really made sense in terms of support. It just kind of came together like that.
Prof. K to Tate: He's giving you all the credit...
Tate: You have to take some credit Wilson!
Wilson: [Laughs] I know, I take credit, I did work on it.
[Tate Kuerbis gets pulled away]
Wilson: I like it a lot without the strap...it's real clean. To me, the dream is that you put the strap on to play...so that it performs. I think visually the strap is a lot cooler on the court, but then if you're just walking around you can take the strap off.
Prof. K: You had mentioned to me previously that you were in the process of transitioning from hand sketching to computer-based sketching when you were designing the FBI. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Wilson: Well, for me, in the past I've done things old-school, I've always sketched and rendered by hand. It was really great on this product to start with early computer drawings of the Air Jordan XVIII and work from there. We also got a much quicker read on the way the project was going to look by putting the new shoe on a player [by compositing a digital sketch onto a digital photograph] and doing studies like that.
It's interesting, the FBI was so direct and deliberate in terms of function — the form follows function. Whereas a lot of the shoes I've worked on, there's always some story, some inspiration, some analogy from another place. But this one was more simply inspired in team basketball. It was really about trying to meet those needs of the various types of players who are out on the basketball court and create a general shoe that captures all of them.
Prof. K: I think it's so Jordan too, it's elegant, but at the same time very performance oriented. You see it and you know there's performance there.
Wilson: That's one thing about Jordan products, they need to tell you something. I think they tell you a new story, and we like to explain a new insight about basketball every time we create something. Michael is always about creating something new, so it makes sense for his products to express newness too.
figure 4a & b. At top is the Air Jordan XVI and directly above is the Air Jordan XVII, which were designed by Wilson Smith. Smith collaborated with Tinker Hatfield on the concepts for the XVI and has penned many of the shoes in the Jumpman Team line.
Prof. K: Did you get feedback from Michael about the shoe?
Wilson: Oh yes, always. It's funny, he kind of jokes with me a lot. He could tell it was my shoe because I really like approaching basketball with a midfoot story. That's something that happened on the XVII with the midfoot cover. I really like the notion of locking the foot down over the platform of the shoe, that seems to really make a lot of sense and that was something that happened with the XVII as well as the FBI.
Prof. K: You've designed shoes in so many different categories, do you have a favorite?
Wilson: I've loved working in the Jordan Brand, it's really been a kick...it's just been awesome. I'd say Jordan and in tennis and there are some things coming up that I think are going to be pretty cool...
Prof. K: How about in terms of sport?
Wilson: Once again, you apply different criteria to different sports and for me it's been tennis and basketball...I've worked in both areas often. Some of my light weight basketball shoes have a bit of tennis influence to them. That's kind of the zone that I really like.
Prof. K: The XVI Low seems like a great expression of that...
Wilson: Yes, definitely, that expresses it all the way. I tend to like that kind of product a lot.
Prof. K: Jumping away from the shoes for a minute, do you have any advice for aspiring designers?
Wilson: Yes, I do [pulls out a sheet of paper]. This write up explains some things that I think are important to becoming a good designer. One of the key things I think is "hey, go ahead and be bold and make a statement." [the text of the piece is as follows]:
EXPECTATION
Having an enjoyable career being artistic is not just limited to creating "works of art."
Everything around us needs to be designed.
Everything around us can be improved by an innovative thinker or creative artist.
EXPLORATION
Study as many different types of artistic methods, mediums and styles as you can.
Do not limit yourself in your friends and contacts, but be open to give and receive from all people.
TRAVEL. Become a sponge to your environment.
EXAMINATION
Create something that "makes a statement."
Keep challenging your art and work at improving.
Seek out your purpose in life and your place in this world.
Once you get a vision, pursue it with all of your heart.
As a young person, if there's something that just hits you, when you see something you like, take note of it. It may start to steer you in a new direction. I know when I look for inspiration a lot of times I'll just be taking in the environment and then next thing I know something catches my eye. I'll make a note of it. I'll either document it, sketch it, take a picture of it, purchase it...basically I'll capture what I've taken in because it will inspire me in whatever I'm doing.
It is also good to expose yourself to as many different mediums of art and expression as you can. I say to young people, just go for it. Just do it all, don't be afraid to pursue it.
figure 5. Wilson's advice to aspiring designers: "If you get excited about something just keep following hard after it...go for it and don't be afraid to pursue it."
Prof. K: Did you ever think that you'd be designing athletic shoes?
Wilson: It's kind of crazy, because my background is in architecture. So now I feel like I'm creating little buildings. I actually like shoe design even more today because you can get design satisfaction quicker and often in a more expressive way than creating an architectural design.
The interesting thing about the footwear industry for me is that, when I came into it, strong design expression didn't really exist. I mean it just really started happening in the mid 80s and I was already working at Nike doing architecture. So today, we don't know, tomorrow there could be a brand new industry of excitement. That's why it's important for young people to be prepared, get your art and your design skills together and remember that you'll be able to apply them anywhere.
Shoes are more of a by-product of what's going on today...there will be all sorts of inspiring things that need to be designed or re-defined in the future. I mean, who knows, we could be playing a sport that we haven't even invented yet, so we need to really be open to designing all sorts of things. Shoes are probably the freshest expression of culture right now...they have a real accessible price and you can really express yourself big time.
Prof. K: Unlike cars, for example...
Wilson: Exactly, they cost so much. So, for a long time, shoes will probably be part of the definitive cultural expression, but it's important for young people to be open to other things that will come along too.
Prof. K: What do you think about the industry as it is now?
Wilson: I think we need to get back to basics...to the sport, the thing that really created the passion in the first place. We need to get back to creating products for athletes. It's a real simple equation if we do it the way that it was intended to be. You know, retro is wonderful for nostalgia, but I think we want to keep moving forward and progressing.
Prof. K: I totally agree, I'm not a big retro fan at all.
Wilson: I would like to say that delicately because I know there are a lot of great memories of things that retro brings up and it's wonderful. I mean I look at some of those Spike and Mike commercials and that's just awesome stuff, but it's also cool to be moving forward. And Michael himself knows that today's technology is quite advanced. The shoes are just getting better and he wants to be in the best.
figure 6. A lighter moment with Wilson Smith. I was lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time with him and I have to say that I blown away by his sincerity and humility. This is a man who's led the design of two of the 18 shoes in the Air Jordan line, who's collaborated with Tinker Hatfield in the design of several others, and who has what is arguably the most significant portfolio of designs amongst active athletic shoe designers. And yet he's as nice as can be and remarkably giving of his time and knowledge (see his advice for aspiring designs for an example of this).
Prof. K: What do you think about Michael leaving for what is almost certainly the last time?
Wilson: This year, he was just this refined player...he's such a living legacy now. And it's just been real exciting these last couple of years with him playing again. I think his legacy will definitely hover over the league for quite some time. Working with him is even more inspiring because I've learned so much from him. He retains information so well...probably more so than anybody I've ever been around. You say something and he really takes note, so I've learned a lot about stick-to-itiveness, a lot about working hard at something and achieving a goal...he's such a great example of that. His focus is amazing. I think that's the biggest thing I've learned from Michael and these great athletes, with their ability to focus and change their game as they need to.
Michael just continued to evolve his game...you know that jumper is beautiful and that wasn't necessarily the focus in 1985. So it's amazing how his game has changed and how he's just put it all together.
More Background on Wilson Smith:
How it All Began, the Shoes, and Wilsonville
Prof. K: How many years have you been in the industry?
Wilson: I started December of 1983, (prior to the birth of I'd guess the majority of your readers!) It'll be 20 years within Nike this December. I was hired initially as Tinker Hatfield's assistant in corporate architecture, designing stores and offices. He moved into product design soon after and I moved over by mid 1986. At first I worked primarily in the Kids Department 'till 1989 then a combination of Tennis and Cross Training. Back then we worked on multiple categories. Often Tinker would design the statement product for the line — like an Air Trainer — and I would generate the "take downs" — like the Air Cross Trainers.
I was the Nike Tennis senior designer from 1990 through '95, creating Andre Agassi's shoes from '94 - 2000. Often the most successful tennis shoes crossed over as light weight hoop shoes. My favorite from this era was the Air Flare (see figure 7a). Andre won the US Open back in '94 wearing these, (which was such a kick, my high point then... Sports Illustrated said he was wearing his "black socks and mini-mouse shoes".) But it was fun seeing that the players were using them on the basketball court too.
figure 7a & b. At top is the Nike Air Flare (1994) and directly above is the Nike Air More Uptempo (1996).
I then focused in Nike Basketball mid-decade '95/ '96 which included creating a signature shoe for Charles Barkley, and an adjustable fit strap shoe called the Air Modify Force, and perhaps the most impact at the time, the Air Much and Air More, (which were at the '96 Olympics and Scottie Pippin wore in the finals that year, see figure 7b).
I joined the Jordan Brand in it's initial year of 1997. During these years I've designed on court, off court and Trunner product, including the Jumpman Team J, J'Madness, Trunner 3%, Jumpman EJ (Eddie Jones,) the Certify, (Jordan Tennis -just out,) and Air Jordan XVI, & Air Jordan XVII.
Prof. K: And you didn't go to school for design or industrial design isn't that right?
Wilson: That's right, I have a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon, School of Architecture. I grew up loving buildings, drawing every home in the neighborhood, and building the downtown of a city, "Wilsonville" on my bedroom floor. Now I call my shoes "homes for the feet."
Well, at this point, Wilson has designed enough high-profile "homes" to make a city the size of New York! Huge thanks to the folks at Jordan for giving me the opportunity to talk with Wilson and much love and respect to Wilson for being so giving of his time and knowledge. The young, aspiring designers out there will do well to take his words to heart, they come from a man who knows very well of what he speaks. As for me, I'm tantalized by Wilson's allusion to "some things coming up that I think are going to be pretty cool." Always keeping us guessing...
|
