I am writing this essay as a 60 second pitch for my design of modular shoes and shoe grips. I’m calling it MyGrip. I have observed that athletes, primarily find it difficult to meet the requirements in footwear for training as well as to play their sport. Not only athletes, even common people have diverse footwear needs when they travel and with air carrier restrictions, it’s not so easy to carry let’s say, 4 pairs of shoes at once.
I define my problem statement as: To eliminate the need of multiple shoes for multiple purposes.
The ideation: MyGrip uses a vacuum knob instead of laces to tighten/loosen the fit of the shoe. The material can be made synthetic to support sports needs and a neutral colour can be chosen to support casual/formal needs. The knob can also regulate the pores of the mesh, enabling air flow into the feet and comforting them, which is highly useful for long travel.
The underside of the shoe has small vacuum seals which calibrate with similar ones on the underside of the modular grip. A toggle on the heel of the shoe helps fasten the grip to the shoe build. And you’re good to go.
This design eliminates the need for carrying multiple shoes for multiple purposes. It removes laces, hefty shoe bags and the disappointment of not having a particular shoe for a particular occasion.