Introduction to Shoe Design (10-week course)

Syllabus 

Course: Shoe Design

Course Structure:

• Online
  
• Prerequisites: None

Course Objectives:

Students will create portfolio-ready presentations that showcase hand rendered shoe designs, mood images and technical/specification sketches of their shoe designs.  Students will develop advanced skills in hand sketching and rendering of footwear, students must be comfortable sketching prior to entering this class.  Critiques are held in almost every class.  Participation is mandatory.

Course Description:

In shoe design, this specialty studio course introduces students to develop knowledge of intro to shoe design.  Students will learn about shoe anatomy:  lasts, sketching shoes, materials and trend research, design development and portfolio presentation in fashion footwear, overview of trend movements along with methods of production, terminology and design elements pertaining to above items will be covered in class. 

Instruction Materials:

Bring sketchbook, drawing supplies will be distributed by school and laptop (if possible) to each class.  We will focus on sketching and the importance of notes on ideation so a journal or sketchbook will be important.

Audio-Visual materials: instructor to show demo videos in studio

Course Outline:

Week 1

• Welcome students, introduction and presentation of my work experience
• Portfolio presentations to the students
• Discuss syllabus – what the 10 weeks will cover
• Students will bring their favorite shoe and sketch it and discuss it
• Introduce the design process

Week 2

• Fashion and Footwear construction overview
• Last and component discussion
• Students sketch last; discuss various types of toe (last) characters
• Students sketch basic pump: every angle, views
• Students sketch heel study

Week 3

• Tape and drape a last demo
• Discussion on shoe patterning
• Students tape last and sketch pattern on last
• Lasting video demonstration

Week 4

• Leather and materials sourcing and development discussion
• Various types of leathers and tanning process
• Color and trend forecasting
• Discuss the various trade shows and resources for leather, material sourcing
• How the industry forecasts color and leather trends

Week 5

• Athletic – casual constructions
• TBD – athletic industry – guest speaker
• Discussion on the various molds and components of molded outsole sneaker casuals
• Students sketch a sneaker or casual construction footwear
• Students design and sketch outsole bottom design

Week 6

• Discuss line plan and merchandising
• Discuss the relevance and importance of the design calendar (seasons)
• Speak about the importance of storytelling and the inspiration about the designs
• Trend relevance and branding

Week 7

• Students sketch and design a cohesive footwear collection – 3 styles for resort 2022
• Sketch and design an open toe slotted construction sandal
• Show examples and variations on this type of footwear – custom and store bought
• Studio sketching and ideation of collection

Week 8

• Develop the material, color palette and story board
• Design iconic hardware for your shoe collection
• Discuss and students draw: technical spec drawing for development
• Students to bring in favorite buckle or hardware to be used on footwear and design scaled suite of that motif
• Design original hardware: buckles, studs, closures, etc

Week 9

• Students execute a complete technical package of the collection for factory hand-off
• Lecture on the importance of clarity and precision on communicating technical packages to the respected factories

Week 10

• Students present their complete designed footwear collection to industry footwear professionals and receive constructive feedback on collection

The Shoe Boss scheduler will reach out to schedule your course at your convenience.  

Upon Completion you will receive a The Shoe Boss School certificate of completion.