Footwear designer

Footwear designers perform fashion trends analysis, forecasting, and market research, create footwear concepts, and build collection lines by operating mood or concept boards, color palettes, materials, drawings, sketches, etc. They conduct the sampling process and make footwear prototypes and samples for presentations aimed at promoting footwear concepts and collections. They identify the range of materials and components, define the design specifications by collaborating with the technical team, and review the footwear samples, prototypes, and collections.

Footwear designers typically do the following:

• Research market trends, materials, and customer preferences to inspire new designs.
• Sketch and conceptualize footwear designs, either by hand or using computer-aided design (CAD) software.
• Select suitable materials, including leather, textiles, and synthetic options, to achieve the desired look, comfort, and durability.
• Develop prototypes, collaborating with model makers and manufacturers to ensure accurate construction.
• Test designs for comfort, fit, durability, and functionality, especially for athletic or specialty footwear.
• Work closely with marketing and merchandising teams to ensure designs align with brand identity and target audience.
• Make adjustments to prototypes based on feedback from testing or design review processes.
• Stay updated with industry trends, sustainability practices, and new materials to innovate in footwear design.
• Manage design projects from concept through to production, ensuring deadlines and quality standards are met.

The following job titles also refer to footwear designer:

shoe designer
footwear CAD designer
women’s footwear designer
men’s footwear designer
footwear technologist
footwear CAD technical designer
footwear stylist
footwear fashion designer
footwear designer and developer
sports footwear designer
footwear designer & developer
shoe stylist
children’s footwear designer
fashion footwear designer

Footwear Designers typically work in design studios or corporate offices within the fashion or sportswear industries. They may spend time in both creative environments and production facilities, working with samples, materials, and prototype models. Designers often collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product developers, marketers, and engineers, and may travel for design inspiration or to oversee production processes in factories. Work hours are usually regular, but deadlines and seasonal demands may require additional hours, particularly in fast-paced fashion cycles.

Most Footwear Designers hold a bachelor’s degree in fashion design, industrial design, or a related field, with some schools offering specialized programs in footwear design. Strong sketching skills, proficiency in CAD software, and knowledge of materials are essential. Designers often gain hands-on experience through internships with footwear brands or manufacturers, which helps them understand the production process and refine their technical skills. Staying updated with industry trends, innovative materials, and sustainable practices is also crucial. For advanced positions, a portfolio demonstrating design versatility and creative problem-solving abilities is invaluable.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Footwear designer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to footwear designer.

footwear product development manager
leather goods designer
footwear quality manager
leather goods industrial engineer
leather goods quality manager

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of footwear designer.

• Footwear and leather goods marketing planning: The principles and methods used in creating a marketing plan and how a company can best position itself compared to its competitors, taking into account the specifities of the footwear and leather goods market.
• Pattern grading: Know about cutting patterns accurately and grading the patterns to obtain the size series in case of mass production. Know how to mark notches, holes, seam allowances, and other technical specifications. Make adjustments and obtain the final patterns for cutting in order to compensate any identified problems during sampling.
• Footwear materials: The characteristics, components, advantages and limitations of a wide range of materials used in footwear production: leather, leather substitutes (synthetics or artificial materials), textile, plastic, rubber etc.
• Footwear manufacturing technology: Footwear processes technology and machinery involved. The footwear manufacturing starts in the cutting/clicking room , cutting the uppers and bottom components. The upper components are joined together in the closing room by following a precise order of specific operations: skiving, folding, sewing etc. The closed upper, the insole and other bottom components are brought together in the assembling room, where the main operations are lasting and soling. The process ends with finishing operations in the finishing and packing room.
• Footwear creation process: Footwear creation projects starting from inspiration to technical design and manufacturing by following several stages. Latest trends in footwear materials, components, processes, and concepts.
• Footwear quality: Quality specifications of materials, processes and final products, the most common defects in footwear, quick tests procedures, laboratory tests procedures and standards, adequate equipment for quality checks. Quality assurance of footwear production processes and fundamental concepts on quality including footwear quality framework and standards.
• Ergonomics in footwear and leather goods design: The principles used in the design of various styles of footwear and leather goods for the correct anatomic and ergonomic proportions and measurements.
• Footwear components: Footwear components both for uppers (vamps, quarters, linings, stiffeners, toe puffs etc.) and bottoms (soles, heels, insoles etc.). Ecological concerns and the importance of recycling. Selection of suitable materials and components based on their influence on the footwear style and characteristics, properties and manufacturability. Procedures and methods in chemical and mechanical processing of leather and non-leather materials.

These skills are necessary for the role of footwear designer.

• Create patterns for footwear: Produce the mean form or shell, a two-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional shape of the last. Create scaled patterns for uppers and bottom components by manual methods from the designs.
• Practice innovative thinking in the footwear and leather goods industries: Innovate and create in the footwear and leather goods sector. Evaluate new ideas and concepts to turn them into marketable products. Use entrepreneurial thinking in all stages of the product and process development to identify new business opportunities for the targeted markets.
• Implement footwear marketing plan: Implement marketing plans according to company specifications, complying with market demand.
• Create technical sketches for footwear: Be able to use various sketching and drawing techniques, including artistic representation, by hand or by computer, being aware of proportion and perspective, to sketch and draw footwear, lasts, soles, heels etc., both as 2D flat designs or as 3D volumes. Be able to prepare specification sheets with details of materials, components and manufacturing requirements.
• Create mood boards: Create mood boards for fashion or interior design collections, gathering different sources of inspirations, sensations, trends, and textures, discussing with the people involved in the project to make sure that the shape, design, colours, and the global genre of the collections fit the order or the related artistic project.
• Perform market research in footwear: Perform market research on the company’s customers, selecting and applying the right marketing strategies for footwear industry. Apply the mix of marketing (product, prices, promotion, and distribution) to contextual conditions of the company. Forecast how various factors as environment, technological innovation, buying behaviour etc. influence the marketing and merchandising of the footwear produced by the company.
• Reduce environmental impact of footwear manufacturing: Assess the environmental impact of footwear manufacture and minimise environmental risks. Reduce environmentally harmful work practices in different stages of the footwear manufacturing.
• Develop footwear collection: Transform footwear design ideas and concepts into prototypes and, finally, a collection. Analyse and check the designs from various angles like functionality, aesthetics, comfort, performance and manufacturability. Manage the development process of all the footwear prototypes in order to meet the customer’s needs and to properly balance quality with production costs.
• Communicate commercial and technical issues in foreign languages: Speak one or more foreign languages in order to communicate commercial and technical issues with various suppliers and clients.
• Use communication techniques: Apply techniques of communication which allow interlocutors to better understand each other and communicate accurately in the transmission of messages.
• Make technical drawings of fashion pieces: Make technical drawings of wearing apparel, leather goods and footwear including both technical and engineering drawings. Use them to communicate or to convey design ideas and manufacturing details to pattern makers, technologists, toolmakers, and equipment producers or to other machine operators for sampling and production.
• Develop footwear and leather goods marketing plans: Be able to develop marketing plans and provide directions for marketing strategies of the company, as well as be able to identify potential markets and to perform marketing activities to promote the footwear products of the company.
• Work in textile manufacturing teams: Work harmoniously with colleagues in teams in the textile and clothing manufacturing industries.
• Apply fashion trends to footwear and leather goods: Be able to stay up to date on the latest styles, attending fashion shows and review fashion/clothing magazines and manuals, analysing the past and present fashion trends in areas such as footwear, leather goods and clothing market. Use analytical thinking and creative models to apply and to interpret in a systematic way the upcoming trends in terms of fashion and life styles.
• Use IT tools: Application of computers, computer networks and other information technologies and equipment to storing, retrieving, transmitting and manipulating data, in the context of a business or enterprise.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of footwear designer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• CAD for footwear: The architecture and functionality of 2D and 3D computer-assisted design software systems for footwear.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of footwear designer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Create solutions to problems: Solve problems that arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.
• Use CAD for soles: Digitise and scan the lasts. Work with files in various CAD systems. Produce 3D models of soles and create 2D computer-aided designs. Grade and obtain the size series. Prepare technical specifications for manufacturing. Produce 2D and 3D computer-aided engineering designs and technical drawings of moulds for vulcanised and injected soles. Export the files of the virtual models to 3D printers, CAM or CNC systems.
• Operate 2D CAD for footwear pattern engineering: Be able to read and interpret design specification to transfer 3D virtual models, computer-made drawings and handmade sketches into the 2D environment of the CAD software. Flatten and work with digitised shells. Use scanners and tablets. Produce, adjust and modify 2D designs of all patterns, including technical specifications, for various footwear construction types with 2D CAD systems. Grade and make the nesting. Produce technical sheets.
• Use CAD for heels: Digitise and scan the lasts. Work with files in various CAD systems. Produce 3D models of heels and create 2D computer-aided designs. Grade and obtain the size series. Prepare technical specifications for manufacturing. Produce 2D and 3D computer-aided engineering designs and technical drawings of moulds for vulcanised and injected heels. Export the files of the virtual models to 3D printers, CAM or CNC systems.
• Prepare footwear samples: Create, test and verify prototypes or samples of footwear against a predefined set of criteria throughout all stages of the manufacturing process. Revise the initial design concepts and implement technical improvements.
• Create 3D CAD footwear prototypes: Be able to read and understand visual elements and technical design specifications from hand-made or computer-made sketches, pictures and drawings. Digitise or scan the lasts. Create the design upon the shape of the lasts according to dimensional requirements of the customer. Perform 3D footwear modelling by using various functionalities of the CAD software such as producing, manipulating and testing virtual images for computer-aided 3D artistic and technical design of footwear. Produce alternative designs and develop virtual models and collection lines. Make presentation boards and catalogues.
• Use CAD for lasts: Be able to digitise and scan the lasts. Work with various 2D and 3D CAD systems and use the software to adopt and transform the shape of the lasts according to dimensional requirements of the customer. Making 2D templates for controlling the shape of the new last. Produce technical drawings and prepare technical specification sheets for manufacturing. Grade the last. Export the files of the virtual model to 3D printers, CAM or CNC systems.

2163 – Product and garment designers

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References

1. Footwear designer – ESCO
2. Footwear designer | Explore careers – National Careers Service
3. Featured image: Photo by Hipkicks