I'm new to footwear Part Two - Researching. How can I help you, the designer to research for a new shoe project?

If you are new to footwear product development and you haven't employed any design help before, it can be tricky to know what information a designer might need.

So I thought I'd share the research stage, what it involves and how to help your designer.

If you can present me with some of your own research, it gives me a basis for my own research. Perhaps start a secret pinterest folder? What to put in there? If the product category exists, when you begin, you could put in photos of rival companies product. This helps me in two ways. I can see not only the aesthetics of the product, I can also look at the price and see where a product is made. This can help us formulate our own brief and also help us when we speak to manufacturers. We can critique it thoroughly. Below, a screenshot from my own pinterest account which can be found here: https://uk.pinterest.com/shoedesigner/

The board below is a development ideas board developed with help from a client.  When you collect ideas for your pinterest board, look at the materials you want to use, logos you like, brands that you identify with,  colours you love and don't forget to talk about the NOPES, what you don't want to see, that's important too. We can then meet either in person or online and discuss our shared research. 

This discussion about the direction we wish to take will form the basis for the ideation sketches stage of the project. 

And don't forget to include any inspiration at all you think might help me to help you. Especially for creative design, if I'm creating a brand for you, then I want to inject your personality and your taste into it. For instance, a client told me how much they loved the architect Frank Gehry. I researched both his architecture then his jewellery.  From this I developed the mood board for the collection and the resulting research inspired me to create the theme for the collection. Here is the board.

And don't be ashamed to send me your own design scribbles. it's my job to work your ideas into something that can be made, this is my skill, please don't discount your own ideas because you aren't a fantastic artist. I still want to see your ideas.  I have worked with professional designers who aren't fantastic artists either, but they still managed to create shoes that sold millions of pairs. I am interested in your ideas and how we can make them into shoes that people want to buy. That is all! 

Who can make my shoe prototype?

One of the most common questions we are asked is if we can make footwear prototypes.

The answer is, no, this is not the focus of our business - we concentrate solely on design, not sampling. This is because we do not have a workshop. The designs that we create for our customers are made in the sample rooms of the footwear factories that will also be making the production.

First of all, what is the function of a prototype? Is it to sell from? Is it to gain investment?Is it to test out a patented invention?

I personally think that shows such as Dragons Den are a bit misleading - the entrepreneurs we have worked with at www.shoedesign.co.uk have not needed a prototype to gain investment. It's not really necessary. All I can think is that they need to see a prototype on Dragons Den because it would make rubbish television viewing if they didn't have something for us to look at! The most important thing to investors is a sound business plan. They will be more interested in your order forecast that whether that heel is a nice shape! The prototype comes after the investors. The usual course of action is business plan->investment->prototype.

If you want to patent an invention of course you will need a prototype, but this would normally come after you gain investment, not before. You will need to consider the capabilities of the person who will be making this - do they have relevant experience to do a good job? Do they have access to the relevant machinery to make your prototype?

If you want a prototype to sell from, beware - if you are selling to retailers, then it's really important that the shoe sample looks exactly like the production. So it really needs to be made in the sample room of the factory that will be making the production, otherwise it is impossible to get the same look. So you really need to find a suitable factory for your footwear range and this is why we always stress to business start up's that they need to start looking for a suitable resource sooner rather than later. And just the same as investors, they will also be interested in your business plan. If they can't see evidence of any orders, then it's pretty hard to convince them to take you on.

Although we do not offer a factory introduction service , we can help you with advice on how to go about this.

More on our website