2010 Future Sole Design Competition Jordan T-Shirt Category Grand Prize Winner

words_Trevor Gessay

Being in the Future Sole Competition was unbelievable. Visiting the Nike Campus was an experience that still hasn’t sunk in. It really didn’t feel like a typical office. There’s so much inspiration everywhere in everyone’s workspaces, it’d be tough not to get twenty ideas a day. It was great seeing how laid back everyone was; instead of stressing you out, it really helped you relax and think of more ideas. You could tell every single person on campus loved their job. It gets you really excited to see what will be coming out soon.

At first I really didn’t know what to expect. When I was told we were given mentors I just thought it’d be an intern looking at our work and telling us some things once in awhile. I never thought I’d be working with D’Wayne Edwards personally on my concepts. Since I was working with him directly, it really pushed me to impress him. Also, since he was my mentor, I didn’t want him to look bad. He had so much knowledge for me that not utilizing it would be unthinkable. He was a great help with my concepts. I’d be sending him about three a night and he’d give me direct feedback about each design very quickly. My personal goal was to make each design perfect by the first time he saw them. Nine of my ten final concepts were perfect after the first time sending to him. The one that wasn’t just had a little change and then it was good. I really focused on making as many strong designs as possible so we’d have a bunch of concepts to pick from for my final submission.

At Nike campus I met so many great people that are really interested in helping me take my design skills to the next level. Being able to talk to people directly in the business and on the design teams was amazing. I really got to learn exactly what their goals for the designs were. I now understand the process a lot better.

Winning the Future Sole T-shirt competition sounds like it’d be the end, but it’s really just the beginning. Since the competition, I’ve made so many more designs for my portfolio. I’ve been working on making more connections in the industry and working towards internships.

I’m really excited to move forward and hope to be working in footwear or apparel design soon. I can’t thank D’Wayne Edwards, Nike, Jordan, and all of the sponsors enough for this opportunity. Everyone was so nice and engaging with every finalist in Portland. It was an amazing experience. It’s definitely a life-changing experience and I would recommend any up-and-coming designer to jump at the chance to enter the competition. Oh yeah, KEEP SKETCHING!

Trevor Gessay’s final design board

Read more about the 2010 Future Sole Design Competition.