As part of our Contemporary Design Culture module, we had the opportunity to attend a guest lecture by Caoimhe Kelly, who shared valuable insight into her professional practice and career journey. She spoke about beginning her career in industrial design before transitioning into footwear design and later working in brand strategy. Caoimhe also discussed her experience working with well‑known companies such as Timberland and Marks & Spencer. I found this particularly interesting, as it highlighted the wide range of opportunities within the design industry and demonstrated how a design career can evolve across multiple disciplines.
My favourite part of the session was the interactive workshop that followed the talk. We were divided into small groups and given a design brief. Each group was assigned a footwear brand, and my team was given Salomon, an outdoor sports footwear brand. Our task was to design a new product for the Autumn/Fall season that stayed true to the brand’s identity while appealing to a new audience.
Traditionally, Salomon designs footwear for outdoor activities such as hiking and trail running and is not typically associated with streetwear. However, this was the direction our group chose to explore. We developed a concept that adapted an existing Salomon shoe into a more weather‑proof design by altering the silhouette to resemble a boot‑like structure. For our second concept, which was our wildcard, we leaned more heavily into the streetwear influence and proposed a ballet pump that incorporated key elements of Salomon’s design language. This exercise encouraged us to think creatively about brand evolution while maintaining core brand values.
Below you can see the slideshow created as part of the activity.
