WHAT DOES A FOOTWEAR DESIGNER DO?

Published: Mar 31, 2025 - The Footwear Designer engages actively in the creative vision at design events and off-sites, simultaneously managing multiple projects across various seasons. This position develops a comprehensive understanding of shoe construction, cost estimation, and the product creation process, ensuring timely delivery of projects by prioritizing effectively. This role conducts extensive market and trend research, supporting product and merchandising teams in crafting compelling presentations for seasonal marketing strategies.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Footwear Designer

1. Footwear Designer Duties

  • Product Innovation: Create innovative and trend-right products that support global and regional brand and design directives.
  • Design Execution: Plans and executes color, material, and pattern designs for specific footwear collections with direction from specific accounts, sales, merchandising, development, and the product creation manager.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional partners to translate brand vision into product designs that achieve sales and gross margin plans.
  • Design Tools Preparation: Prepare and drive on-time creation of all design tools required by Product Merchandising to communicate effectively with customers from ideation to execution in collaboration with development and product creation manager.
  • Timely Completion: Adheres to calendar/timelines/deadlines for category/account resulting in timely completion of each product.
  • Design Communication: Communicate designs, visions, and stories to internal and external audiences informally and at a high level as necessary.
  • Material Selection: Participate in material selection in collaboration with Product Merchandising and/or account to ensure achievement of both functionality and margin goals.
  • Design Finalization: Collaborates with product merchandising, development, and the product creation manager to communicate all changes for final confirmation of designs.
  • Consumer Insight Application: Displays and utilizes in-depth understanding of consumer, culture, and category vision to improve product performance and appearance.
  • Tech Pack Creation: Create all tools and details necessary for Product Development to build footwear tech packs.
  • Marketing Collaboration: Collaborate with marketing teams on a regular basis to assist with storytelling and design inspiration.

2. Footwear Designer Details

  • Creative Vision: Participate in creative vision during off-sites and other design events.
  • Project Management: Work on multiple projects across several seasons.
  • Deadline Management: Assist others in projects to ensure that category is delivering against deadlines.
  • Independent Work: Work independently within the Triad team and have a strong understanding of the product creation process and timelines.
  • Product Knowledge: Understanding of shoe construction, process and costing as well as being able to prioritize workload and deliver projects on time.
  • Market Research: Conduct market and trend research to gain a full understanding of the needs of the consumer and the evolving marketplace.
  • Creative Event Participation: Actively participate in Creative Vision during design events.
  • Presentation Support: Assist product and merchandising teams in creating impactful presentations for seasonal sales & marketing meetings.
  • Footwear Manufacturing Knowledge: Understanding of footwear product creation and manufacturing process, supplier process and deliverables in order to execute color, material, and graphic designs effectively.
  • Trend Identification: Conducts market research (city travels) to identify trends and express findings in reports and presentations when necessary to inspire future concepts.

3. Footwear Designer Responsibilities

  • Brand Collaboration: Collaborate with the Brand Team on new product initiatives aimed at creating innovative concepts and collections that follow brand DNA and to ensure that customers are receiving a best-in-class product that inspires and motivates.
  • Product Development: Bringing a product concept to reality through researching inspiration, developing new design concepts, assessing competitors, sketching ideas, prototyping mock-ups, creating tech packages, CADS, and overseeing sample development and clearly communicating changes required to deliver an excellent product to the market.
  • Product Detailing: Execute product details, including but not exclusive of construction, color, form, materials, style, detail, comfort, fit and cost/value requirements.
  • Market Research: Ongoing market research, understand how to forecast trends and apply insights from both a consumer relevant perspective and fashion perspective to the product, materials and overall creation strategy.
  • Trend Presentation: Help create and present seasonal mood/trend boards and supporting visuals to internal teams.
  • Deadline Management: Ensure production deadlines are met, work is executed properly from product fit and comfort criteria, manufacturability, cost/margins, merchandising, aesthetic finish to key financial objectives and work is followed up with properly and professionally.
  • Design Leadership: Provide a strong influence on the product engine from the design side, partnering directly with design leadership.
  • Project Management: Manage large-scale projects, collections, and processes.
  • Sketching & Technical Drawings: Develop and execute clear and detailed sketches, concept presentations, and technical drawings.

4. Footwear Designer Job Summary

  • Sketching: Accurately depict hand-drawn sketches, designs, graphic applications, and ideations as digitally rendered line art, flat patterns, 2D/3D, technical drawings, and other required art/illustrations.
  • Web Design: Create web-based design boards that depict accurate and complete images of product fabrics, textiles, components, and design.
  • Material Illustration: Choose and illustrate materials and colors on 2D lineart.
  • Software: Effectively and efficiently navigate and use Reebok software tools and systems.
  • Pattern Adjustment: Make adjustments to 2D patterns and construction as necessary during the product creation process.
  • Product Briefs: Execute New Upper/New Bottom product briefs while working closely with factory staff and mold shop team.
  • Factory Collaboration: Work directly with the factory team and suppliers on a day-to-day basis in a fast-paced environment.
  • Manufacturing Design: Strong interest and/or experience in the Design for manufacturing approach.
  • Technical Communication: Select appropriate methods of communication to accurately convey technical information.
  • Concept Boards: Create design and concept boards to communicate seasonal direction and design theme application to a product or product line.
  • Artwork: Create supporting artwork that illustrates design concepts and tells stories.

5. Footwear Designer Accountabilities

  • Market Research: Research the worldwide marketplace and interpret consumer and market needs as they relate to product category(s) to gain a thorough understanding of customer/product requirements.
  • Material Research: Researching materials, components, color, and design concepts and collecting feedback from customers, consumers, and sales representatives.
  • Opportunity Identification: Identify opportunities that map to consumer insights and/or emerging market demands, with the intent of capitalizing on key technologies/concepts.
  • Action Plans: Formulate action plans, line plans, and product briefs accordingly.
  • Concept Generation: Generate multiple, unique 2D & 3D product concepts per new model that address critical functional, aesthetic, and business goals on a seasonal basis.
  • Design Boards: Provide design/concept boards to communicate design/collection creative direction.
  • Product Design: Design projects include new in-line and special-make products and update carry-over styles.
  • Project Development: Develop projects from sketches through digital line art.
  • Concept Communication: Communicate design concepts to teammates, including multiple views and detailed sketches and/or technical drawings
  • Design Refinement: Refine design concepts in conjunction with Design leadership, Merchandiser(s) and Product Development, in order to optimize functional performance, fit, comfort, and manufacturability.
  • Coordination: Coordinate efforts with Production/Sourcing to assure the most effective results.
  • Factory Representation: Effectively represent Design Team goals on development trips to factories.