Drawing and sketching have at all times been part of Emily Miller’s life. Rising up, she usually watched her mom, a textile designer, spend hours creating issues for enjoyable. Steadily, Emily’s mother invited her and her sisters into the method, displaying them how to attract and use their minds to make issues.
“I at all times thought of myself good at something art-related due to her,” Miller spoke of these occasions along with her mother.
She at all times had a tricky time with math and would usually get in bother for having doodles on her pages as a substitute of notes. Her instructors instructed her that if she put half as a lot effort into notes as she did her artwork, she wouldn’t wrestle a lot.
Unsurprisingly, artwork class is the place she excelled, “partially as a result of artwork is subjective, but additionally as a result of that’s the place I felt most assured,” she mentioned.
Finally, all of these doodles paid off. Her expertise and ability finally led her to her present place as considered one of Timberland PRO’s main product designers. However connecting the dots wasn’t simple.
Bored with a educating or wonderful arts profession, she progressively discovered her technique to industrial design, the place she landed two internships that may set the groundwork for every little thing to observe.
“These two internships set me up career-wise,” she mirrored. “One taught me that I may take pleasure in designing merchandise (energy instruments) that weren’t usually designed/marketed to somebody like me (a younger feminine). The opposite taught me that I like footwear. I graduated faculty in 2012 with an industrial design excellence award and a job supply for a year-long apprenticeship at Reebok.”
After graduating, Emily was supplied a job at Reebok, the place she spent 5 years engaged on the model’s working and innovation groups. She finally migrated to Timberland as a result of she was fascinated by the inventive problem of designing footwear that may perform as extra of a software for working individuals.
“Security footwear is one thing individuals want — not simply need,” she defined. “I’ve spent the final 7 years engaged on security merchandise for Timberland PRO, and I like working for this model as a result of it pairs my love for footwear with my want to create purposeful merchandise.”
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The Philosophy of Design
At a basic degree, Miller’s design philosophy contains three tenets.
Information: Know who and the place the product is for. “I can sit at a desk all day and doodle my brains out,” she defined, “however no matter I feel the very best answer is means nothing if I’m not using data from professionals within the industries the place this product will spend its life.”
Within the case of Timberland PRO, this meant doing her analysis — speaking with builders, electricians, carpenters, welders, and different tradespeople to find out about their wants.
Operate: A product must carry out — ideally higher than comparable merchandise out there. “I like designing security merchandise as a result of I’m making footwear for individuals who assist hold the world working,” she mentioned. “These will not be simple jobs. If I can create one thing that makes a type of individuals’s jobs just a bit bit simpler, that appears like a win to me.”
Assembly this want implies that Emily is usually centered on the skilled challenges her prospects face of their trades, and discovering options to these issues.
Trend: Basically, footwear must carry out. However at a better degree, they will also be a type of self-expression. “I’m not into style,” Miller hedged, “however I do love footwear. … Even within the easiest of kinds, they’re a software in addition to a technique to specific what you want.”
“At some age, everybody must put on footwear,” she continued. “They defend us from the weather, whether or not these components are a grassy yard, a marathon course, or a dusty development job web site.”
The Challenges of Designing Work Footwear
Even with a rock-solid design framework, creating sturdy and reliable footwear for tradespeople just isn’t simple or easy. For one, making footwear and boots for among the hardest put on environments will be aesthetically limiting.
However there are additionally lots of trade requirements and security assessments that Timberland PRO footwear must go so as to be offered for particular environments. Sure bedrock options, like a security toe, require particulars that may’t be compromised.
“Let’s say we’re creating a brand new athletic industrial shoe for indoor manufacturing and warehousing,” Miller gave for example. “We wish to make this factor look lean, glossy, and quick so you possibly can transfer such as you would in your favourite sneaker — however with the additional advantage of security safety and enhanced long-wear consolation.”
To create a feel and look much like an athletic shoe — in a piece boot — takes nice ability. Syncing up the calls for of the protection toe whereas offering outsole protection for sturdiness and the scale for consolation is not any small factor. It’s most of these challenges that hold Emily on her toes and creatively engaged in her work.
Certainly one of her more moderen tasks was creating the Timberland PRO Morphix Work Boot, an evolution of the Timberland PRO Radius Work Sneaker.
She and her crew leveled up among the key efficiency options of the Radius platform with a thicker foam and different design tweaks. This supplied extra consolation and fuller outsole geometry that performs higher in crossover indoor/out of doors environments versus the radius, which was designed particularly for indoor use.
Designing for Work and Play
All of it stems again to Miller’s early ardour for creative expression. Taking a novel problem and making one thing helpful is her life’s work, and that zeal comes by way of in her up to date Timberland PRO designs.
By her personal admission, these issues are why she’s been with the model for the final 7 years — at all times having an fascinating inventive problem retains her glad and rising in her profession.
On the coronary heart of it, she loves the problem of constructing sneakers that carry out like boots, and inversely, loves making a boot that appears like a sneaker. Her objective is to create one thing that effortlessly goes from work to play, serving each capabilities equally.
“I take pleasure in persevering with to try to make merchandise our prospects can put on on the job and may then meet their buddies or household for dinner,” she reiterated. “All these individuals who work in these industries we service have lives outdoors of their jobs. I wish to create a product for his or her job that’s comfy and trendy sufficient that they will work all day and nonetheless be comfy sufficient to go reside their lives in it, as nicely.”
This put up is sponsored by Timberland PRO. Be taught extra and store at timberland.com.
