TYLAN'S ZOOM STEFAN JANOSKI
BEHIND THE DESIGN
Doernbecher Freestyle 2017 participant Tylan Dylan believes every good fisherman needs a good fishing shoe, and his Zoom Stefan Janoski design expertly embodies that thinking. Using special nautical elements and a custom-created school of trophy fish, Tylan’s team of experienced Nike designers, including Footwear Developer Tracy Prinkki, Design Director and Lead Footwear Designer August Benzien, Product Developer Michelle Caserma, Technical Developer Amy Lepper and Apparel and Graphic Designer Kerry Williams, helped him bring the shoe to life in a fashion true to his original drawings.
The nautical theme, inspired by Tylan's love of fishing, takes center stage not only via the shoe's colorway and fish-laden liner, but also in the footbed, the heel and even the hat liner from the apparel collection. “I wanted to draw a fish [to use on the shoe], so I based it off the water life in the Northwest by freestyle drawing some stuff based on photos,” says Kerry. “It became a great way to bring Tylan’s vision to life throughout both the apparel and footwear.”
“Tylan always says that you don’t know what everyone’s situation is, so you need to be kind to everyone,” reveals August. “'Be Kind' is really Tylan's motto and his brand, and he really wanted something subdued that spoke to him and what he wanted,” says Tracy. “Originally, he wanted a 'Be Kind' logo visible in the tooling, but we ultimately went through different rounds and processes to land on the underwater graphic to mimic looking through the water, while 'Be Kind' comes through on the tag and sockliner.”
For the design team, becoming a part of the legacy of the Doernbecher Freestyle program, and getting to know Tylan and his family, was the true reward of the project. “Being able to help contribute to facilitating Tylan’s vision and making that dream come true, and the collaboration amongst the team, was pretty awesome,” says August, who served as the project’s Design Director. Tracy and Kerry whole-heartedly agree. “It was rad to have a 13-year-old creative director and to guide him through the process."
