UA Asteroid Runner

Category: Footwear
Date: 04.2020
Location: Pasadena, California
ArtCenter College of Design

“UA Asteroid Runner’ is a trail running shoe concept with a dynamic cushioning system that features a separated heel that brings great responsiveness to your off-road running.

*Student project/not affiliated with Under Armour.

01/Intro & Research

For my first project in the footwear design course, the challenge was to select a sport, location, alpha user, and brand to guide the shoe design process. This task commenced just at the start of COVID-19, marking a significant shift to online learning and remote collaboration. With gyms no longer an option for maintaining physical fitness, I found peace in the great outdoors, which inspired my choice of trail running as the focus sport for this project.

I chose Eaton Canyon Trail, a well-known trail in Los Angeles close to where I live, as the location. This trail, characterized by its accessible difficulty level, offers a diverse array of terrains, including sections with water and rocks, all beautifully enveloped by lush vegetation. The varied landscape of Eaton Canyon Trail provided the perfect backdrop for designing a trail running shoe that could handle different types of surfaces while ensuring comfort and stability for the runner.

During my initial research, I connected with Jay online, a trail running enthusiast who became my alpha user. Jay's experience with challenging terrains offered valuable insights that shaped my design, especially his quest for shoes that can tackle tough landscapes.

Focusing on the functional aspects of the shoe, I delved into the biomechanics of trail running. The uneven terrain leads to increased rotary movements in our feet, along with more pronation and supination, which guided the design principles for the shoe.

Research on technologies would also be helpful for innovative solutions.
My final direction was based on one of these (car suspension).

Following thorough research, I distilled three key insights to kickstart my ideation process.

For the design's stylistic direction, I selected images featuring curved streamlines and protective surfaces to define the design language, emphasizing speed, protection, and dynamic movement.

02/Concept

After rounds of ideation sketching, I went on the concept & solution features a dynamic cushioning system with separated heels that bring better responsiveness and balance to off-road running, inspired by the car suspension.

I drew a few concept posters. In order to test the concepts, I also made several mid/outsole mock-ups with styrene and foam.

After finalizing the design direction, I built some quick 3D models in Gravity Sketch VR to have 3D visualization with realistic materials, so it could help me to revise the concept.

Following several iterations to refine and simplify the design, I completed a CAD drawing accompanied by a tech pack.

(At that time, I didn’t know men sample size is US 9, so I just put on my size. Now I know it should be 9.)

03/Final

I built the final 3D model in ZBrush and rendered it in Keyshot.

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