I’m excited to present my latest project – The History of Air Wheel.
So this came about when I was asked if I wanted to make a visual for Nike’s history of visible Air running sneakers. I grabbed the proposal with both hands and wanted to create an interactive tool which gave a nod to sneakerheads.
The first question was how to display such a classic timeline? After some thought and discussion with a good friend of mine, the ‘sneaker wheel’ came about – this is already a popular style of photo that sneakerheads use to show off their kicks/current rotation. It seemed obvious to then add a front panel and reveal each segment one by one.
This made the wheel interactive and amplified the development of each shoe as they rise in date and are revealed.
There are 13 segments in total, which means that there are certainly a few silhouettes missing but space was a limiting factor so I narrowed it down to the most popular/significant. Here is who made the cut:
- Air Max 1 (1987)
- Air Max 90 (1990)
- Air Max 180 (1991)
- Air Max 93 (1993)
- Air Max 95 (1995)
- Air Max 97 (1997)
- Air Max Plus (1998)
- Air Max 360 (2006)
- Air Max 2015
- Air Max Zero (2015)
- Air Max 2016
- Air Max 2017
- VaporMax (2017)
Each shoe was individually created using the Adobe suite as to not infringe on copyright images. This was by far the longest process, creating the outlines and filling with flat or gradient colour – I also had to factor in how it would scale and maintain its quality. Although lengthy, I enjoyed this part because I learned more about the details of each shoe.
As of now, the wheel will be used as a tool and as a personal homage to the incredibly rich history of a brand I love. Since creating it, I’ve asked myself why I waited for the idea to present itself instead of boiling the creative juices myself. We live, we learn.
I’m just an ordinary girl creating in the world that I love, which took me so long to find — 27 years to be exact. I guess this is a fist-raise to all the other ladies out there trying to make moves in this space too. Keep pushing and keep creating. We too have a voice which I believe brands are truly starting to value and listen to. Aleali May with her two Jordan releases is major.
I want to give a big thank you to my gifted friend Elba for brainstorming this idea with me and also Brad and Esther of Digital Art Graphics who printed this for me. Appreciate you guys.
Catch me on social @MrsTeriyaki for further discussion on the wheel and women in the sneaker industry.
