Erik Hernandez
Pen side-profile sketch of a mid-top basketball shoe with a jagged zigzag overlay rising from the midfoot to the collar and three stripes set into a heel panel.
A pair of Crazy Bounce in navy with white stripes, red laces, and camo outsoles on a grey studio backdrop.
Top-down view of both toes in navy mesh with red laces and camo midsole edges.
Close-up of the outsole with a red adidas logo window set into red, white, and navy camo rubber.
Full outsole in red, white, and navy camo rubber with a red midfoot window.
Heel close-up showing bounce debossed on the navy midsole above the camo outsole.
Close-up of three white stripes on the navy heel overlay with red stitching.
Forefoot close-up in navy mesh with the midsole wrapping up at the toe.
Close-up of the red laces crossing the navy mesh upper beside the camo outsole.

Brief

Design a mid-top team basketball shoe for adidas built on Bounce cushioning. The upper needed a graphic identity strong enough to carry team and national colorways.

Process

Early concepts pushed an aggressive, asymmetric zigzag overlay that climbed the collar, testing different lacing layouts and shifting the stripes from the quarter to the heel. Later concepts pared the overlay back to a few cleaner panels, with the stripes set into a molded heel piece and the midsole line kept low and continuous. The production model landed on a multi-layer mesh upper with a textured heel overlay carrying the three stripes, on a Bounce midsole.