What it Means to Work for a Brand
Pledging your time and talents to a brand influences your identity. It’s a joint undertaking as both you and the brand believe in the suitable match. The points of compatibility...
The Never-Ending Story of Defining Success
Success is as unoriginal as other buzzwords of our time. Like passion, motivation or drive, success only carries meaning when put into context. Your context, my context, her context, his...
Recognising and Repairing Tribalism in Companies
Company structures mimic society. Both promote greater visions, while humming along to today’s theories on leading and unifying individuals. Within companies we work in smaller teams that many of us...
For Anyone (and I mean anyone) Who Wants to Try a Hackathon
Hack…a…thon. Yes, you read that correctly - nothing in there suggests either footwear design or trend analysis. I ended up in this project development tech event to learn more about...
Establishing a Collective Trend Process
For the last three years, I led our trend research in Europe. Many might see trend analysis as either acting like a fashion oracle or collecting pretty images. Well, it...
Presentation? Get Used to It
I’m here to unravel and reboot your perception of presenting. By combining some tough love with yes-you-can motivation, we’ll tame your doubts and train your nerves. Presenting is going to...
How to Talk with Baby Boomer Parents About Success
Who else to ask about the wild, wild workforce than your parents. You’re old enough to understand the value of their advice and keen enough to filter it through your...
Better Writer Equals Better Designer
“If choosing between two equally qualified designers,” one recruiter once said “I always went with the better writer.” For the word Olympians, bask in this good fortune. For everyone else,...
The Future is Not Your Heritage, Sorry
The most meaningful necklace I received said, “Always Go Forward and Never Turn Back.” Sure, it had some religious connotations, but the message stuck. Every generation cycles though craving past...
What Does Heritage Mean?
Heritage. If you work within the greater fashion industry, whether its footwear, apparel or marketing, someone mentioned the word heritage. You probably tried it on for size, mixing it with...
The Unsung Talents of Footwear Designers
“You’re the first footwear designer I’ve ever met” is a typical response. Introductions around my profession confronts me with how small our population really is. The remark resonates with flattery,...
Reclaiming Your Design Identity
Identity makes the designer. Perspective and experience separates us from other creatives. As a designer a part of a brand, your identity gets complex with the social label and accompanying...