The Next Sneaker Design Star Sends His Final Report Back From Reebok HQ

On to the next one.

We check back in with Oliver Vranesh, winner of The Next Sneaker Design Star contest, on Day 3 of his apprenticeship with Reebok Classic in Canton, Mass.

After sketching out a variety of iterations while keeping in mind the design advice from the Classics team, I was able to come up with a final design. It is heavily inspired by "Reebok DNA," and still has the feel of the original winning design. The lateral quarter pattern and the subtle geometries on the midsole are taken from the Pump Omni Lite; the silhouette is taken from the Alien Stomper; and the embossing details around the top line references from the Question Mid.

In all honesty, I enjoyed my second iteration more which visually portrays Reebok's identity with the clean vector logo. The logo was not meant to just take up space and anchor the quarter pattern, but to show recognition to a great brand. Having a pattern that is recognizable to all generations, that to me is why I liked this design. It is simple, clear, and elegant. It portrays what my intention was, which is vintage basketball with modern technology.

 

The design team seemed to enjoy the third iteration and so did the marketing team. Marketing has a different view on design; meaning their approach is that your product has to be something that sells. It’s nice to explore, push the limits, and invent, but in the end it’s a business and your role as a designer is to develop something that sells and has a mass appeal. So when you’re designing it’s great to tie in a variety of mindsets together.

Overall, the mentorship at Reebok was a priceless experience. The campus is incredible and all the people I met there were friendly, intelligent, talented, and all-around just cool people. This will be an experience I will always remember.