fig 02:
TETRA
Saving the Planet one step at a time
Our planet is changing. With social media platform’s being used as spaces to connect and have a voice, the the birth of the digital influencer has evolved how we present ourselves and what we choose to share with the world. After only a few years of applied machine learning many social media users are already tailoring their social media experiences from the posts they interact with to who they follow in an effort to better protect their Algorithm. In response to this evolutionary change, I wanted to create an experience for a generation of consumers that could raise their understanding of Global issues into the Metaverse but help them to keep their footprint firmly on the ground. Can sustainability be… cool?
@imma.gram - (200k followers)
@Imma.gram with organic human friends & models Asakawa (left) & Mayben (right)
@lilmiquela in Nike x Alyx Apparel - (3M follwers)
@lilmiquel supporting mental health initiatives in stories
center: @shudu.gram - (234K followers) for Balmain
paid partnership with EE - @shudu.gram for Swarovski
@bermudaisbae - (269K followers)
@bermudaisbae - in real life?
Digital Influencers & Meta-humans like @imma.gram blur the boundaries of modern reality by becoming aspirational brand ambassadors (@shudu.gram for luxury brands like Balmain & Swarovsky), amplifying real time social issues (@lilmiquela regularly shares IG stories on mental health and highlights issues like digital fatigue & burnout) & even participating in meme culture (@bermudaisbae pokes fun at Starbucks with the mispelling of her name on a cup as she walks the street in LA). Pulling these digital ideals into an aspirational product offense might be the unlock to spark actionable results for a new generation.
From a directional standpoint 3 key ideas stood out as north stars for this project. Adaptability (moving with the user to provide modern style choices), Comfort (for an easy go-to all-day wear) & the idea of ‘re'-Considered (more than sustainability alone but reconnecting to an original concept from Nike’s past how sustainability could be used to inform the look and feel of the future).
Conceptually, the humble ‘Tetrahedron’ was a grounding inspiration in the overall design approach —offering the promise of reduced waste with its simple & efficient 2D design balanced by its reusability by way of transforming from flat to form (and back) over and over again.
Early ideas focused on pattern efficiency and optimization as a means to create a new form language and a signature expression of modern sport-style. Once the rough idea was established the journey to realizing this concept required skilled hands and fine tuning to adapt the modular design idea into a feasible expression for production and manufacture. A number of different approaches were trialed but ultimately I landed on a rudimentary “peg & hole” or “pushpin” style system that would provide the user with a hands-on/real world connection to the product that would allow them to adapt their style with customizable features like laces, outsoles and even shape & stance.
Early sampling & testing : ensuring the most secure fit for easy component changes & to extend the lifespan of the product.
Road testing : Workshopping with 3D printed parts, power tools and Polyurethane compounds for millimeter refinements.
With the necessary development and engineering the project yielded multiple successes – by using recycled materials throughout the shoe and ZERO SOLVENT method of construction not only could the user swap out the recycled rubber outsole & reused cotton laces but they could, for the first time, ‘post’ a modern style focused shoe that could be easily unstitched (along the connecting upper-to-midsole tape line) at the end of its lifespan and be completely recycled – giving back to the planet it came from in a more ethical closed loop approach to design.
