A recap of Puma’s sneaker design challenge

Written by Aubrey Moehlenpah. Photo by 3 ½ Runners.

With great talent, comes a difficult time for judges.

Since SCAD launched its new sneaker design minor last spring, it’s quickly gained popularity and even brought in a partnership with Puma. A sneaker design competition that started with only 60 students in the fall quarter, quickly grew to hundreds this winter quarter.

Regardless of being in the sneaker minor or not, this competition was open to all majors and minors. Students chose groups and collaborated by pooling their strengths together.

With a sharp 8 a.m. deadline for presentations, students worked all week and even throughout the night to make final touches—anything to gain an upper hand over other teams. All of this, for a chance to win the grand prize: an ambassadorship and a trip to Puma’s headquarters in Boston.

However, this winter, students went above and beyond and blew away the judges. So much so, that the judges spent close to an hour deliberating, because in this competition—instead of one winner, there were five.

The design challenge was to make a design under one of two categories: an “Everyday” sneaker or a “Rule-breaker” design. The criteria would be graded on sustainability, how well it represented Puma’s values, a chosen celebrity and an outfit to go along. One crucial “must have” was that the design had to include Puma’s signature Nitro-Foam in some shape or form.

The third-place winners, 3 ½ Runners, turned an everyday sneaker into a rule-breaker in sustainability. Their names: Valentina Garcia, David Fuller, Jack Winkler and Jake Smith. Not only are they all runners, but three members of the design team are also a part of SCAD’s cross-country and the track team. As a group of athletes, they’re a terrific choice for being able to recognize what aspects are important in a sneaker.

Their unique take on re-using and recycling old Nitro-Foam soles would not only save in manufacturing costs but also reduce the output of chemicals. Modeling off of Puma’s Sustainability Targets for 2025, reusing and recycling would greatly improve our community and the world around us.

“300 million shoes are discarded every year. Even Puma Runners agree that the Puma Nitro Foam breaks down after around 200 miles. Instead of throwing the Nitro-Foam soles away, we can re-use them,” said David Fuller.

What’s even more impressive is the design they’ve managed to come up with.

“Our design is intentionally made with sustainable materials, but I wouldn’t say that’s the main selling point of this product,” says Valentina Garcia, an Industrial design major and Marketing Specialist for the project. “The real differentiator is that it bridges the gap between two business areas within the Puma brand, which are Performance and Lifestyle.”

It is clear how much time, effort and knowledge were poured into this design to face off against such talented competitors.

Although they didn’t win the grand prize to Puma’s HQ, Fuller said, “We’ve been told we get to present our pitch to the Global Footwear Team, as well as, meet with some of Puma’s Footwear Executives.”

“Our research and process were enough to earn us a podium finish,” said Fuller.

Placing in the top three, let alone the top five is impressive nonetheless. The group however is very satisfied because of how much raw talent they were up against. Even now, the group can’t wait to jump at the chance to participate in more competitions in the future.