For me good design is a product or a service that improves or adds up something positive to society solving and issue or simplifying an already-existing product. At the same time, good design involves thinking about how is it going to be produced and the materials involved so that they do not harm the environment or the people involved in the manufacturing of it.

Appearance, uniqueness, original.  

"Industrially manufactured object with timeless aesthetic value.For an object to become a design classic requires time, and whatever lasting impact the design has had on society, together with its influence on later designs, play large roles in determining whether something becomes a design classic. Thus, design classics are often strikingly simple, going to the essence, and are described with words like iconic, neat, valuable or having meaning."

Design classic. (2019, April 7). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_classic

The vinyl format is still widely hailed as the optimum in sound quality and listening pleasure, many challengers have come and gone but records have endured the test of time like no other.

Phonograph record. (2020, May 1). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph_record

The History of Vinyl Records. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.phonostage.co.uk/history-vinyl-records/

t’s a story that can’t be told without first introducing renowned designer Tinker Hatfield. In 1981, long before becoming sneaker industry royalty, Nike hired Hatfield as a corporate architect to design buildings on the brand’s Oregon campus. It wasn’t until four years later, in 1985, that he would begin designing footwear upon request. He applied his architectural background to sneaker design and it didn’t take long for him to impart a rebellious spirit into the recently struggling brand. “I began working on a renegade set of shoes that were not part of a design brief or marketing drive,” he explains, referencing what would become the very first Air Max sneaker.

The ‘80s started well for Nike, they’d acquired 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market and were on track to become a one billion dollar company. However, midway through the decade, the competition was creeping up on them. Bright colors, daring patterns and bold neons embellished the era, and Nike needed something more striking. Nike’s Cortez, Waffle Racer and Tailwind had proved popular in the past but they didn’t capture the experimental nature of the time. Hatfield saw the importance of risk taking and a trip to Paris would provide the catalyst for a brightly burning idea…

Nike’s Air technology wasn’t new; it was developed by former NASA engineer Frank Rudy and introduced in the Air Tailwind in 1978. Air replaced traditional molded EVA soles with gas filled urethane pouches. However, it was the consensus that as performance technology the pouches ought to be felt and not seen. That was until Hatfield came along.

It wasn’t another sneaker or even a fashion concept that planted the idea to expose the Air-cushioned sole in Hatfield’s mind, it was a controversial building in Paris that many considered an eyesore. “I don’t know if I was thinking, well now I’m going to design a shoe based off of this,” Hatfield said in the documentary series Respect the Architects. “I just remember being super influenced by it and having my architectural senses turned upside down.” He’s referring to the Centre Georges Pompidou, a building design that took all its functional and structural elements and placed them on the outside for all to see. Even today, its irregularity remains impossible to miss amongst Paris’ traditional architecture. Hatfield believes that had he not seen the building he may never have suggested revealing the air pouch: “I thought let’s make the bag a little bit wider, make sure it’s stable, but then let’s go ahead and remove part of the midsole so we can actually see it.”

Nike had been trying to make its air technology smaller, increasing its size and displaying it was a provocative idea — the brand feared the transparent display would look structurally weak and easily punctured. In the Netflix documentary series Abstract: The Art of Design, Hatfield describes the reaction to early Air Max sketches: “It was widely discussed that I had pushed it too far. People were trying to get us fired.” Fortunately, Hatfield had the confidence to challenge the opposition with support from David Forland, Nike’s Director of Cushioning Innovation. However, while Hatfield had complete confidence in the integrity of his design, no one could have predicted the Air Max 1’s lasting impact.

Howes, A., Howes, A., & Howes, A. (2019, March 26). Nike Air Max 1: The Story Behind the Revolutionary Sneaker. Retrieved from https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/nike-air-max-1-history/

In early 1849 Nathaniel Cook, Howard Staunton's editor at the Illustrated London Times, designed the Staunton chess set at a time when players were refusing to play with each other's pieces because of the difficulty in distinguishing the various chess pieces. The main patterns prior to the Staunton pattern were the Lund, Merrifield, Calvert, Barleycorn, Selenius and St George patterns. Cook used symbols in their plainest form. The King had a crown, the Queen had a coronet, the Bishop had a miter, the Knight was a horse's head, the Rook was a castle, and the pawn was a ball. The horses' heads were based on the Elgin Marbles. These were designs found in the Parthenon frieze and taken to England by Thoms Bruce, 7th Lord of Elgin, in 1806. The pawns were developed from the freemason's square and compass. Every symbol was supported on a plain stem rising from a heavy, wide base which gave stability. The design so impressed John Jaques, leading wood carver, that he immediately suggested making the pieces on a commercial basis.

A History of Chess Pieces and Chess Sets. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.chesscentral.com/pages/chess-sets-pieces-boards/a-history-of-chess-pieces-and-chess-sets.html

In the 1950s and ’60s, Acapulco became a hot destination for the jet set. Airline ads and other images from the time depict a glamorous, fun beachy town in full technicolor.

Legend has it that a French tourist was visiting Acapulco in the ’50s and was uncomfortably hot atop a solidly-constructed chair in the Mexico sunshine. Inspired by the open string construction of traditional Mayan hammocks nearby, he designed a chair fit for the modern tropics.

Whether or not this is true — who was that mysterious visionary Frenchman? — the Acapulco chair was first produced in the ’50s, and quickly became popular in Mexico. Usually made of vinyl cords on a metal, slightly pear-shaped frame, the Acapulco chair has most commonly been used as outdoor lounge seating, in bright, tropical colors.

Lately, designers have been producing some variations on the Acapulco theme — round versions, leather versions, Mobius strip loveseat versions, etc. In all its iterations, the Acapulco chair shows its roots in folk design, modernism and tropical Hollywood glamour.

Hoffman, A. (2019, May 13). Quick History: The Acapulco Chair. Retrieved from https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/quick-history-the-acapulco-chair-retrospect-170595

Designer: Thinker Hatfield

Born in Oregon, United States on April 30 1952, Tinker Haven Hatfield is one of the great, memorable and innovative sport shoe designers of all time. Growing up in a small town, society gave him two solid work options which were farm/field work or sport; however little did society know that his future had something very different in store, one that would make a lasting impact on the design industry. His mother, brother, and father were all sports coaches. His father in particularly, Tinker Hatfield Sr was very well regarded as a coach in Oregon, giving Hatfield Jr an upbringing surrounded by sports. This was evident in high school where he attended Central Linn High School, he became an all-state selection for basketball, football and All-American selection for track & field. Tinker went on to study at the University of Oregon, graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and running track for Nike's co-owner Bill Bowerman.

It was in 1981 when he joined the Nike corporate team, yet only discovered the positive transfer between his architectural skills and shoe design in 1985. The Nike company  was shrinking due to the products lacking aesthetic appeal and innovative technology. Hatfield was asked to compete in a 24 hour shoe design contest which he won by a mile. Nike told him, "You are now a designer, forget that architecture stuff."  It was then when he began designing sports shoes and soon enough the Jordan 3s, one of the most sought after Jordan shoes. In 1988 Michael Jordan was unhappy with Nike and looking to sign with Nike's greatest rival, Adidas. This is where Hatfield first made his mark, he collaborated with Michael Jordan - merging their ideas for elephant print and a visible air unit - creating the Jordan 3. His contribution to the Nike team, in turn strengthened Jordan's relationship with Nike and allowed sport’s most iconic range to continue. If it wasn’t for Hatfield’s Jordan 3s, there is a great chance that Michael Jordan would have made the switch to Adidas. If this were to happen, the brand we know to be the most successful in the world, (Nike) could have been chasing the tail of Adidas. However today, in almost every sport, sport companies are behind Nike in popularity and innovation due to the great image Nike built, starting with Tinker and Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan went on to become the greatest basketball player of all time with six championship rings and Hatfield continued to design his shoes even through Jordan's premature retirement.

There was a lot of competition in the market. It was not solving a problem in specific, Nike needed something more striking. The approach is still valid.

He took inspiration from a building in Paris by Renzo Piano that looked as if it was "inside out". 

Because Tinker wanted to do something different and show the air bubble inside the shoe to create a statement. He considered different sizes of the bubble.

Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://thaliabbb7.wixsite.com/tinkerhaven/biography

For the reinterpretation of the Air Max 1 I chose as my components the air bubble and the comfort purpose of it. 

The process to develop my new design started with thinking about other products that have the same feature of contained air such as: Mattresses, water chairs, inflatables, zorb, etc. I realized that those products usually look very fragile and not of a very high quality. In other words, they look cheap.

After taking a look at a couple of more things I started thinking of the comfort component and how I could incorporate both, the air and the comfort, into a product. My first thought was to design a chair that had an extra cushion to provide more support while sitting, I thought of designing an office chair because people in an office are sitting down for long periods of time. Then I decided not to follow that idea because the point was to make the air visible, and in an office chair that wouldn't look very professional. 

Then I thought of making some kind of couch for kids that would have the same component and I kept that idea for a while.

After that I decided to leave aside the chairs and couches and tried to think of another product that produces fatigue and that needs to be properly designed in order for it to be comfortable and that is when the backpack idea came.

I started thinking about incorporating the air into the straps and the bottom of the backpack to provide more support and also to protect the backpack from getting damaged when you place it on the floor or any other surface. 

The material that I found BANANATEX. The webpage says: Bananatex is the world’s first durable, waterproof fabric made purely from Banana plants. Cultivated in the Philippines within a natural ecosystem of sustainable forestry, the plant requires no chemical treatments. Its self-sufficiency has made it an important contributor to reforestation of areas once eroded by Palm plantations, whilst enhancing the prosperity of local farmers. 
Three years of research and development resulted in a new material that answers questions of environmental, economic and social sustainability. As an open source project Bananatex offers a viable alternative to the synthetic fabrics.

After that first sketch I decided to change some feature because it looked way too "sporty" and that was not the look I was aiming for so I did some other sketches.

After having a clear design in mind I started modeling on Rhino and then I did the rendering using Keyshot.