Josh’s exploration into the footwear world started through his love for skateboarding and how footwear can be used as tools. His ambition to learn and grow as a footwear designer was fuelled by a passion for crafting and refining his process. Through dedication to his pursuit he learned how to make shoes by destroying and dissecting 100’s of shoes through his teenage and early adult years and taking note of the modifications he made to existing models to better inform decisions taken into professional projects.
Looking to pursue the field he felt it necessary to gain a view of the end-to-end process and the parts that contribute to design and manufacture of footwear by studying manufacturing engineering followed by graphic design and ultimately a BA in Footwear Design at De Montfort University in Leicester.
Josh spent the early years of his career in footwear designer roles across lifestyle brands before moving into CMF with global brands such as adidas, Puma and On Running.
His work has primarily revolved around storytelling in both the lifestyle and performance footwear spaces specific to CMF, and enhancing the user experience through considered applications of material and pattern improvements. He has brought to light both commercial success stories and more nuanced local storytelling.
He has continued to push the boundaries of manufacturing processes to the limit and explore the edges of the material design frontier by working closely with suppliers to develop new material manufacturing methods and applications.
Josh’s more recent endeavours entailed a move into a role at Jordan at Nike HQ as lead material designer for sportswear footwear, where he can continue to utilise his multifaceted background to continue to define how the future looks, through a material lens for one of the most popular brands in the market today.
LinkedIn | Website
