Walk A Mile- Industrial Design Outreach is a non profit delivering remote creative competencies education to undeserved BIPOC students by pairing students with designers who are at the top of their field in product design from around the US and Mexico.

I managed two young designers M and Y(redacted - minors) at the Academy High School in San Francisco, CA.

They had no prior design knowledge experience or expertise and were tasked with making a shoe that conveys their unique brand identity, attitudes and ideals. This challenges them to synthesis, abstract and create a targeted message in their visual craft and prototypes.

Through this process I taught them the tools, processes and guided them to a final physical model for their portfolios to apply to college programs for product design thus feeding our industry with new diverse talent and ideas. 

The design process included.

Mind mapping.

Rough Sketches (Introduction to sketching).

Crazy 8 sketches.

Final Sketches with color. 

Prototypes:

Cardboard shoes.

-Foam prototypes 1.

-Foam Prototypes 2.

Alex's example

Alex's example back

Y's example. Y wanted to create a shoe that focused on geometric shapes and sculptural elements in abstract sculpture art. The end outcome became a large sturdy shoe using unique patterns that relate and build upon one another. The students core concept dealt with unification, abstraction, motion and change. 

M's example. M was a Junior and their concept was to create a simple shoe. M's design message and approach revolves around the concept that they do not believe in brand messaging and that a utilitarian shoe would be the most idea and least standoffish product to deliver to the public. M's shoe employs much irony as it attempt to advertise itself as a simple shoe yet features unique design patterns on the siding of the shoe. 

M's unique siding creates a beautiful array of pale blues and greens.