GIBSONDesign

Footwear occupies a strange and often overlooked position in product design. It is one of the only products worn continuously , load-bearing , and directly interfacing with the nervous system , yet it is rarely treated with the same rigor as products like car seats, medical devices, or aerospace interfaces. In most industries, human factors  are foundational. In footwear, they are often optional…or ignored entirely. This gap creates a deeper issue: we don’t just design shoes

The Feet as the Foundation of the Body The feet are the foundation of the human body in the same way a foundation supports a house. A house can look stable from the outside, but if the foundation is uneven or weak, every structure above it must compensate. Walls crack, beams shift, stress concentrates where it shouldn’t. The issue isn’t visible at first—but over time, failure becomes inevitable. The human body works the same way. The feet are the first point of contact with t

There’s a misunderstanding that simply switching to barefoot shoes will automatically “fix” what modern footwear has disrupted. The reality is more complex. Most of us began wearing conventional shoes so early that our feet never had the chance to develop their natural strength, alignment, or sensory awareness. Narrow toe boxes, thick cushioning, arch supports, and elevated heels have all altered how our feet distribute pressure, engage muscles, and stabilize our bodies in mo

I hear this too often when it comes to AI and the design process... "I could do that" ... "That's AI garbage" ... "YOU didn't make that, AI made that" ... "AI design is lazy" 1. The Misconception There’s a common misconception that AI creates bad work—that anything made with it is somehow inauthentic or lacking substance. But that view misses the essence of what AI truly is. AI isn’t a complete process; it’s a tool . Yes, some people use it passively—type a prompt, take the f

Imagine tuning a guitar by tightening one string and leaving the rest untouched — the whole instrument falls out of harmony.

There’s been a shift happening quietly behind the scenes at Nike. One that doesn’t just reimagine how product is made—but why.

Foot-Shaped for a Reason: Why Modern Shoes Are Misaligning More Than Just Your Feet The human foot is an engineering marvel—26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments working together to form the foundation for your entire body. But from a young age, that foundation is often compromised. How? By stuffing feet into rigid, narrow shoes that force them to conform to shapes nature never intended. From Foot to Foot-Shaped Shoe: A Developmental Detour At birt

What feels good in the moment isn’t always good in the long run . Today’s footwear market is dominated by designs that prioritize immediate comfort: soft cushioning, arch support, and restrictive structure, without fully considering how these choices affect the body over time.

"Use it or lose it." We’ve all heard this phrase before—usually in the context of memory or muscle—but its application to human movement and health is far more profound than many realize. Over time, we’ve lost access to natural movement patterns, ranges of motion, and basic physical functionality. Most of us are walking around with only a fraction of our body’s original capacity—and we don’t even realize it. Why? Because we've stopped using what was once innate. Instead, we’v

When a musician tunes their instrument, they're not just prepping for a perfect performance—they're protecting the instrument itself . An untuned guitar or violin doesn’t just sound off; it creates strain that, over time, can cause damage. Your body operates the same way. At the heart of this tuning process lies a powerful yet often overlooked structure in the human body: fascia . Let's explore how fascia acts like your body's internal strings, and why keeping them "in tune"

Images generated with AI In the world of design, we’re living through a revolution. With AI tools now capable of turning a few words into...

The pursuit of perfection is inherently asymptotic - each iteration moves you closer to an ideal that may never fully materialize. If nothing seems perfect in your mind, it is because the process itself unveils flaws that were previously invisible, pushing you toward refinement, again and again. This cycle of discovery and correction is the engine of progress, but it also poses a dilemma: when do you stop? When is something good enough step out of the sandbox and into the wor

I recently had the opportunity to share some of my work and thoughts about the footwear industry moving forward regarding additive...