Play it

 Playing around with it, a basketball dunk kind of design can be customized to a higher level of protection for the ankle to protect from all kinds of overflex of the joint which could injure the ligaments and tendons.

A more modern, low profile shoe has a major margin to add ankle protection to the shoe which might be necessary as the shoes themselves have very low cut, non-majorly padded ankles which do not protect a skateboarder's ankles from any kind of overflex.

An old school, padded sneaker has a much more padded collar giving a much more comfortable fit to the ankle but still lacks the kind of protection an ankle needs from overflex.

Back to the basics

There are a few kinds of base shoe designs that can be used to skate in according to what style a person would skate.

The most important part of a shoe for any skateboarder is the sole.
Every skate shoe has a flat sole with a pattern with the most area of contact to prevent or reduce the chances of slipping off the surface of the board.

The next is the body of the shoe and what material it is made out of.
Skateboarders are very choosy about what style of shoe they wear because their shoes are direct representations of their personalities and styles.

The styles of shoes that can be skated in are a few going from the bulky, old style padded sneakers to the modern low profile shoes to basketball dunk styles to full ankle covering high tops.

Every one of these styles can be played around with and can be customized to not only represent a person's style but to provide the maximum amount of protection to the skateboarder and also maximum mobility.

Work it!

Surveys are a very good way to understand what people want and it can give a person some very good ideas.

But, isn't a graphical representation better?
Have your target audience make their own design. That is going to help you understand what a person wants in perfect detail.

SO, going over exactly what skateboarders need for the style of skateboarding they do, I had them design their own skate shoe,going over what they would want in their own shoe relating to their personal and skateboarding style.

So, here I have some of the designs that I got from skaters with multiple styles, from cruising to street to park to downhill. I have multiple styles and multiple requirements to work on to make a shoe that can be used for any and all styles without being restrictive in any way.

Source it

15th April 2016

CROWDSOURCING
                                       The process of getting work or funding, usually online, from a crowd of people. The word is a combination of the words 'crowd' and 'outsourcing'. The idea is to take work and outsource it to a crowd of workers.


A very good way to work when the design problem relates to a large number of users, all of whom have individuals views, tastes and opinions. Also, reduces the work of the person himself/herself as they do not have to personally talk to every single person.

A very good way to crowdsource is using online surveys. They provide the person with individual and group results which help analytics and statistics while giving the person the ability to understand individual requirements and needs.

Here's my survey link:
http://goo.gl/forms/5uQ9DA7qVN


Also, a few statistics to understand the results of the survey,

The survey gave a certain direction to work towards as there was a clear idea of what needs to be done.

It shows that most of the skateboarders have had some kind of ankle injury related to skateboarding.

This leads to the solution that something needs to be done to protect skateboarders' ankles from injuries that they can have.

Sew what

14th April 2016

The materials from which different parts of the shoes are made have a really big impact on how the shoe feels on the board and how it reacts.

There are certain materials that have always been preferred over others to construct skate shoes because of how they feel and perform as different parts of the shoe.


Upper
Leather
Suede
Nubuck
Canvas
Mesh

Inner
Cotton
Canvas
Neoprene

Sockliner
EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate)
Polyurethane

Midsole
EVA

Outsole
Rubber
Gum

Heel Cup
Flexible plastic



Traditional materials like leather and suede have brilliant feel to them while skating in but they tend to blow out very soon, this means that they lose their shape very quick.
Whereas materials like canvas hold their shape very well but are not equally as durable as leatheror suede.

Save your sole

13th April 2016

Somebody must have thought of doing something about the durability of skate shoes. Skateboarding has been around for quite a while now, and there are about a million skateboarders in the United States alone.

A bit of research revealed a few very interesting designs.


A few simple and classic designs such as the Vans and DC work very well and are, as it says, classic.

Vans Chima Pro

Chima Ferguson's first pro shoe on Vans was influenced by other Vans classics he's been skating in for years but made with updated materials. For instance the canvas has been reinforced with Duracap, to skate as tough as suede and rubber. Also an insole with gel heel pads provide better support today than in years prior.

DC Mike Mo S
Mike Mo Capaldi was trying to make something lightweight that was really flexible because he enjoys skating floppy shoes, so he went with a no-sew suede upper, a Unilite midsole and an X on the front part of the sole for extra stretchiness. The eyestays are reinforced with TPU and a basketball-influenced mesh tongue helps with ventilation. 

While shoes like Osiris and Emerica decided to take a different path but still withhold functionality and support for the skater.

 Osiris Bingaman VLC

Osiris stepped in a new direction with Taylor Bingaman's shoe, the Bingaman VLC, a modern-looking mid top with a vulcanized sole. The upper is made of suede, nubuck and mesh, with a hidden lacing system that protects the laces. There's also a perforated neoprene sleeve on the inside for ventilation and comfort. The insole is made of dual density polyurethane and the midsole is made of compression molded EVA. There's a deep stash pocket in the tongue along with a velcro strap for support.

Emerica Reynolds

Supportive and functional, the Reynolds is simple-looking on the outside, but really technical on the inside. The G6 foam in the midsole is for comfort and protection, and a cool air intake system in the side panel reduces feet sweat and moisture.

That Ankle!

12th April 2016


Protect that ankle!

Well, some solutions are so simple that they almost seem stupid

-Thick Socks
Say wuuuuuuut?
Something as simple as thick socks can give your ankle enough support to protect them from hyperflexing and getting injured.


-Crepe Bandage
Well, the best recovery first aid can also double up to protect you from getting injured in the first place


-High Tops
Them High Ankle shoes! The technology has worked very well through the years in basketball shoes, tested and proven in the field by the best of the best.


-Padded Collars
Keep them low, keep them thick.
Low tops with a thick collar provide the ankle with a bit of support without the restriction of a high top.


-Compression Sleeve
The high performance athlete's love.
You really can't go too wrong with a compression sleeve. Give your joints a lot of support while making sure that you don't pull them past what they should be going.


-Ankle Brace
You won't be hurting your ankle anytime soon with this piece of gear protecting it. You really can't go wrong with a brace. Forget about twistingyour ankle evr again.

Save your legs!

12th April 2016


The Problem Statement
-Preventing Skateboard related Ankle Injuries with the highest Comfort and Fluidity


The focus of the project is to protect a skateboarders ankles from any injury that might happen while practicing or to support the ankle while recovering from an existing injury.

*You shouldn't even be skateboarding with a hurt ankle -.-

While concentrating on providing enough support for the ankle, I am also working towards making the shoes a lot more comfortable and durable to skate in for a longer time.

Break your legs!

11th April 2016

There have been a lot of designs of shoes targeted at the skateboarding community and specially designed along with a lot of professional skateboarders and their preferences.

All these technologies made their way down to the skate shoes for the community but at the same time, the community still has a lot of problems related to the durability of their shoes and the kind of protection it provides for their feet and ankles.

Let's see the major problems that an experienced skateboarder faces,
1. Ripped upper
2. Sole durability
3. Impact protection for their feet
4. Flexibility of high-tops
5. Ripped laces
6. Grip

While there are also problems that learners face
1. Durability of shoes
2. Very little to no support for ankles
3. Low quality materials because of low pricing
4. Grip

The problem itself

10th April 2016

Problem

NOUN

1. A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome
        1.1 A thing that is difficult to achieve
        1.2 [AS MODIFIER] Denoting or relating to people whose behaviour causes difficulties to                       themselves and others


To start the process, we need to have a clear problem in mind so as to find solutions to work towards.

My problem was sitting right under my nose, figuratively and in reality. 

The skateboard community has a never ending problem of their shoes getting ripped almost every two months and every one of them is plagued by some or the other kind of ankle injuries.

Ankle injuries are the worst kind of injuries a person can have. And if they turn out to be ligament injuries, a person can be sure that they either sit out of everything for months straight or end up messing up their ankle for life.

So there it was, staring me right in the face, ripped shoes and ankle injuries.
How do we solve this?