Prototype Work In Progress

OBSERVATION

I like to go running, day in, day out. So, of course, I appreciate my running shoes immensely! Basically, they are the only gateway to the accessible sport of running, and you actually don't need more than them. Great simplicity. Where ever you are - in a small Swedish village or on Stanford Campus: I put them on and can immediately and dynamically explore my surroundings! However, as an active runner, I need to replace my shoes every 4 months, after around 900km. This not only gets annoyingly costly, a looot of unnecessary waste accumulates over time (so, so many old running shoes are piling up in my corridor at home already). An observation: The uppers of the shoes are often still in really great condition (which is likely due to the low ground-contact time when running). This made me think and compare: When a bike gets a flat tire, we also don't throw away the whole bike, right? So why not design a modular running shoe that allows runners to simply and immediately replace their worn-out soles with new ones? I have already spent 10 months on finding a solution, together with my teammates in Sweden and Switzerland. We are currently creating a startup around our product. Our name is STRIDE and our Pitch Deck is attached down here:

DEFINITION

The only thing better than one part, is two parts. … Well, in some cases at least!

The idea of modularity is so prominent in everyday products already. Think about electric toothbrushes or razor and blades for grooming! In the sanitary industry, modularity has found its’ entry point:

So by also introducing modularity as a sustainable characteristic into running shoes, they would become capable to contribute to a more sustainable running shoe industry. That is the defined aim.

DEFINITION —> HUMAN CENTERED

But what is in it for the runner? Well, right now, we need to re-purchase our shoes quite often: Going to the store or online, putting a lot of money on the table, waiting or hoping to get the right pair (…) And then, when the lifespan of the sole is outlived after a few months, the hassle starts again. Paired with a bad conscious of seeing so many (still good looking!) shoes stacking up in your corridor. But if you would continue to run in them, you might risk an injuries, as the cushioning is gone. But all of that could be different! IMAGINE: You found your perfect, comfortable and sleek looking running shoes from STRIDE. You pound your miles in them, and as soon as a green layer in the sole appears: You know: The lifespan has extended and it’s time to go to STRIDE.se. Here you can simply repurchase new, soft and responsive soles for only 45 USD. They arrive, you replace the old soles of your STRIDE running shoes with your new ones in 20 seconds and you can continue your training! In the meantime, you saved costs and unnecessary waste!

IDEATION & SKETCHES

To make that vision come to life, sketches for a connective technology needed to be made. Here is a little overview from my notebook. The question: How can you replace the super durable and safe glueing and stitching of a sole with a technology, that is equally stable but also easily detachable?

SKETCHING CONTINUED (more advanced and also physical)

The sketching helped to narrow down many approaches to a quite simple but effective belt-system, that replaces the stitching. I am super driven to iterate on this idea further - and curious to see, how this Design Diary will continue to be filled! The enemy is getting stuck. I also want to throw all of this off board again and pull new approaches and solutions on board! Maybe I need to take 5 steps back to come one step further, and this is my place and opportunity for it!

Here you can see the first 3D printed Prototype. I will bring it to class!