The Idea
Having worked at one of the busiest OFFICE Shoes stores, I was able to notice some of the best-selling and trending footwear brands and models, and among these was the New Balance 530, a very versatile lifestyle model initially designed for high-performance running. Lots of successful sneaker models evolve throughout the years, taking on many updates and improvements. My thinking behind this project was, “What if the 530 had a version 2?”.
The first place to start this journey is to take a deep dive into trend forecasts for the upcoming seasons, ensuring that the following design process is laid on a solid, relevant foundation. Looking into key silhouettes, materials, and colour palettes, it is important to research trends and create cohesive stories out of them that can be easily implemented into footwear designs. At this stage of this project, I try to imagine a conceptual New Balance sneaker that pairs these colour themes with trend-relevant materials, and, most importantly, this needs to feel natural to the New Balance DNA. Take a look at how the 990 model evolved over time; it always represented the core values of the brand but maintained great contemporary aesthetics each and every time.
Who Is New Balance For?
One of the greatest feats of this brand is the ability to cater to a very wide audience; celebrated by their marketing campaigns such as “Worn by supermodels in London and dads in Ohio”.
The Sketch Process
Before Michaelangelo took the hammer and chisel to the slab of marble that later transformed into David, his pen met paper and took a journey of its own, encapsulating his creative thinking. It’s easy to get stuck at the sketching stage because, as humans, we’re prone to analysing and trying to give elaborate meanings to simple things. I find the most effective way to start conceptualising shoes is to sketch without thinking. Of course, you have an idea of what you would like the final product should look like, however, you have to let the pencil or pen in your hand create its own unique shapes and lines. Meaning comes later. Now I remind myself of around five years ago when I was at college studying A-Level Product Design and I was finding inspiration in the work of famous architects, especially Frank Gehry: A man who could design incredible buildings by sketching the form of a scrunched-up piece of paper.
This unrestrained method of designing is what I always focus on. When creating these quick sketches, I simply start with the basic shapes, and bit by bit, I add more dynamic lines and then a few finishing touches to build a logical silhouette.
Selecting My Top Three
Out of the 18 designs, I have picked out the three shoes that represent the 530 v2 model the best. With sporty dynamism, fast sole units, and strong lines, these three designs stay true to the athletic heritage of the original 530 model.
The 530 v2 Has Been Chosen
Make It Pop With Colour
The silhouette is taken onto Adobe Illustrator to utilise the Live Paint tool that allows me to fill the shapes with colours influenced by the WGSN colour trend forecasts of the respective seasons. The ‘Classic Browns & Neutrals’ theme suits the 530 v2 perfectly. Although this focuses on the spring/ summer seasons of 2023, these hues often are utilised all year round, whether on boots or espadrilles, so this theme is perfect for building a timeless New Balance sneaker.
Greens are popular among New Balance models and for a good reason. Bright greens provide a sporty, youthful aesthetic whereas darker or earthier greens can build utilitarian looks.
The ‘Stone’ colour theme is one of the most utility-focused themes out of the selected eight and an extra bonus it holds is its year-round versatility. It’s a key colour theme as grey runs strongly throughout New Balance collections.
Warm and natural colours make up the ‘Golden Hour’ theme, being very representative of spring and summer. These earthy, terracotta-like colours build an outdoorsy aesthetic for this 530 v2 model.
Moving over to Autumn/ Winter 2023-24, one of the selected colour themes focuses on space travel, futuristic technologies, and designs. The mixture of deep reds with grey and white is actually common throughout existing New Balance models; some of my favourites include the MADE in USA 990v3 in ‘Nb scarlet with marblehead’, and the 550 in ‘Team red with white and concrete’.
The ‘Refreshed Monochromatic’ theme is fairly similar to ‘Mars-Influenced Reds’, however, in this theme, black and white are more in focus while red is mostly used to compliment the design.
When thinking about autumn and winter, you’re most likely not going to visualise bright colours like sky blue and vibrant orange, but this is why this ‘Vibrant Orange & Calm Blue’ theme caught my eye; it’s a visual oxymoron.
Utilitarian Greens, on the other hand, traditionally represent autumn and winter. Based on these eight trends, greens are utilised year-round. While the lighter hues better represent the spring and summer seasons, darker variations are better suited to the colder months.
All-grey sneakers are the spirit to the New Balance brand and so I had to design the 530 v2 in all-grey colourways. In the conceptual release, there would be three total available colourways; one for spring/ summer, one for autumn/ winter, and finally a core, timeless classic.
Final Three Colourways
Rendering The 530v2
Tech Pack
Marketing
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