Erik Hernandez
Four midsole studies in two rows under a faint shoe outline, each a teal rubber shell holding bubbles of blue Qu!kfoam, with an orange TPU shank set at the arch or heel.
Line art of design A in blue, both sides, with orange stripes across the quarter, an orange 361° heel badge, and a bubbled midsole.
Line art of design C in blue, both sides, with an orange swirl at the collar and a pale blue heel wrap printed 361°.
Rendering of design C in blue with an orange collar swirl, a pale blue translucent heel printed 361°, and bubbled Qu!kfoam showing through the midsole, with its outsole below at the same scale, a pale blue cellular traction pattern around an orange 361° shank.
The finished shoe in white, lilac, and translucent blue, with an orange pull loop, a blue 361° heel badge, and a bubbled white midsole, lateral view.
The finished shoe from the medial side, with a teal heel wrap over the bubbled midsole and the white lace untied.

Brief

361° asked us to design the shoe that would launch Qu!kfoam, its new cushioning foam, in its basketball line, with the foam as the hero of the design.

Process

Design started with the midsole, setting oversized bubbles of Qu!kfoam inside a cage-like TPU shank. Concepts then explored uppers from laced low-tops to strapped mids, each built around the exposed foam. The final design adds zonal lacing and outsole cutouts that put the shank and foam bubbles on display.