The design process started with an introduction from Nike iD design consultant Ozzie Myers. Myers explained to our guys that they would split into two teams and each side would design their own Duke shoe on one of the two iMac iD stations using state-of-the-art NikeiD technology. Once each shoe design was complete, the team would vote on which of the two shoe designs to wear during March Madness. From there, the team would have some additional personalization options.
The team then split up, with G, Jon, Greg, Lance, and Nolan forming a group and Dave, Kyle, Brian, Miles, Marty, Olek, Elliot, Steve, and Jordan working together. Each group huddled around a NikeiD consultant and went to work, customizing everything from the sole color, to the laces, to the midsole, to the Swoosh color, to the Flywire style and more. Also, Nike designed a special toe piece with the Duke D, university shield and elements from the Duke Chapel merged in a unique graphic that only the winning Blue Devil shoe would have.
“It’s cool because when you break them up into groups, they love to jab at each other and go at it,” said Meyers about the guys competing to design the best shoe. “But it was cool how they were really supportive and would be like, ‘Oh man those guys shoes looked awesome with this, maybe we should change this on ours.’ It’s just cool to see that they are all on the same page. It’s obvious that they have such good chemistry on the court because they do so well off the court.”
After 15 minutes of design and deliberation, the shoes were ready for a vote. “That’s the shoe,” said G right away when he saw the other group’s design. “That’s going to be fire.” The design by the second group won easily with minimal disagreement.
Nolan described the winner, “Well we wanted some black on the bottoms. But we also had to get some blue in there on the Nike swoosh and on the laces. We wanted a shoe that we could wear with the white, blue, or black jerseys. There is a little bit of each color in there. You know, we got to look good while we’re playing well. So I think this shoe is really going to fit us nicely.”
Once the shoe was set, the guys had the option of adding a personal ID to the tongue such as their initials or number. Instead, the group decided to include a team motto that everyone has tried to embrace this season. Said G, “We decided to put 14 equals 40 on the tongues of the shoes because we have a saying that we have 14 players and we are going to play hard for 40 minutes.” Nolan added, “14 equals 40, you know, it takes 14 Duke players and 40 minutes. That’s our motto from now until the rest of the year.”
Overall, the players were pleased with the final result and left excited to debut the finished product in March. “It’s really cool that we get to design our own shoe,” said Jon afterwards. “We were able to decide everything pretty much from the shoe lace to the base of the shoe. As a basketball player it was a really cool honor for our team, and it was a really unique thing. It will be a lot of fun wearing them.”
After the shoe design was complete, the guys scurried back to the locker room and headed back up to the K Center weight room for a lift. Meanwhile, the Nike team packed up and prepared to hit the road. The iD design team plans to visit eight of the most elite Nike programs in the country, allowing each to design its own shoes for the Big Dance. In Duke’s case, the Blue Devil team members will be the only people in the world who have their shoe.
