ANDREW'S AIR VAPORMAX
BEHIND THE DESIGN
Andrew Merydith is an avid fan of his local sports teams and BMX, and the vivid colors found on his Air VaporMax, part of the 2017 Doernbecher Freestyle collection, don't shy away from their bold inspiration. Brought to life by a Nike design team inclusive of Sr. Footwear Designer Lee Gibson and Sr. Technical Developer for Apparel Susan Miller, Andrew’s unforgettable and very personal Air VaporMax design is built with family at top of mind.
“When Andrew came in, he knew he wanted a football and BMX-jersey inspired Air VaporMax from the start. When it came to the purple laces and Swoosh, that’s where we explored different options beyond his very clear vision of the overall design,” says Lee. "Andrew is a really strong designer," adds Susan. "His apparel is also really close to his original design because he knew what he wanted and it was really personal to him."
“Andrew was super excited about having his own name and his own graphic, and the team’s Graphic Designer, Colin Strandberg, made it a little bit sharper to deliver Andrew’s vision,” says Lee. “The aglets are personalized with his name, and we put it on the bottom of the shoe as well."
"We flipped the Air VaporMax logo into Andrew's name, which you can see on the sockliner," shows Lee, "along with a paint splatter effect that he was super into and we personalized. The sockliner, the Air bag gradient, the speckles - that’s where we presented some options beyond his original design, and this is the first time we have printed like this on this Air bag," says Lee. “We worked with Andrew directly on his vision and what we could deliver, and then we finalized his design.”
“After going through Doernbecher Freestyle, Andrew is really interested in the footwear design process,” says Lee. “I was surprised that a 15-year-old kid just wanted the brightest shoe he could make, which isn’t always the case. So, that was really cool and inspiring.” Susan left the project and process with renewed motivation and inspiration as well. “Seeing Andrew’s excited reaction to the options we were showing him throughout the process was truly inspiring," she adds.
