Pink's Sense of Design

The Nike Revolution

Krystal Roberts

As I perused through the various unique and stimulating ways that Pink suggests practicing his high-concept aptitude of “design,” I thought about his explanation of good design as being an opportunity to foster pleasure, beauty, and meaning. I was especially intrigued by his suggestion to try designing something myself, especially as I contemplated the idea that the objects that seem to have the most meaning and emotional attachment in my life are the ones that I had a part in creating or designing due to putting thought and time into doing so. Therefore, I decided to participate in the “Third Industrial Revolution” and went online to create my very own Nike running shoe. I often wear tennis shoes for either walking, recreation, or running, so shoes are an important part of my everyday routine. Thus, though I love specific colors and designs, when I go into a store to buy a shoe I mostly choose based on comfort and affordability. The exciting part of designing my own shoe online was that I got to choose a style that I know is comfortable, and then I got to decide every detail about the shoe, from the color of the shoe tongue, to whether the bottom of the shoe was glow in the dark or colored, to the very text on the front of the shoe. I got to make a unique shoe that is my very own. I set a color scheme with some of my favorite colors, created a balance that looked pleasing to my eye, and finished by typing in my nickname on the shoe tongue where “NIKE” usually goes. Although I would never pay full price for a customized shoe (my left-brain logical thinking wouldn’t allow me to), the exercise of design without considering price or durability freed me to think expressively and use my imagination.