Classes Necessary to Get into the Shoe-Design Business?

Hey...I am interested in the same field of work...thats what I want to d o as well. My first logical guess was to get a marketing degree...however I was informed that the best bet is to get a degree in humanities then get an internship and just work your way up. That's the route I am going to take, at least.

try materials science, if your are interested in the designing. i.e. selecting a potential material to be used for the sole, analyzing it with a microscope, etc.

Marketing would have little to do with actual design,..more promotional...getting the product out...

I am sure that shoes companies have people on the creative side, like an industrial design (art) person...that\\\'s probably the person to design the look of the shoe and any logos, etc.

Try biomechanics classes. Peter Cavanaugh of Penn State has been doing research on running shoe design for years for Puma. He's a biomechanics PhD. Anyone wearing a pair of adidas running shoes can see the 'torsion bar' in the middle of the arch. That's a product of the Adidas research lab in Calgary, Alberta - run by biomechanists.

scott s. wrote:

Marketing would have little to do with actual design,..more promotional...getting the product out...

Actually the marketing process would begin before the technical design of the shoe, include the design of the shoe, and proceed right through to getting the shoe on the shelf.

I would think that a marketing degree would help. I was on the Nike website awhile back and saw a job posting related to shoe development. it said some stuff related to schooling (i think it mentioned a marketing degree)and also that the candidate should have some experience with shoes. (i.e selling shoes at a running store)

I'ld recommend you check the websites for some of the shoe giants and see what they have for requirements for their different job postings.

Take fashion and criminology.

You'll need to learn how to make those useless Nikes look cool, and you'll need to learn how to charge criminal prices for them.

I don't know about a major, but make sure you take Sweat Shops 101 class and Advanced Sweat Shops 201. Those are essential if you want to make any profit in the shoe industry.

Your best bet would be to go after a BFA(Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree with an emphasis in Graphic Design. These classes will give you the know how when doing hand layouts(for presenting ideas to clients, or bosses) and specialized skills with advanced computer programs as well( Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark, Dreamweaver, etc...) Unless you get into some type of design program, you won't work with doing the actual designing process, but rather the post-designed business and marketing side of things. Unless that's what you'd rather do. It might be good to keep your options open.

actually some of the designers for asics have no background other than working at a shoe store. just learn a lot on your own.