I have always been interested in the design of shoes specifically because they are things everyone needs, yet we make them so personal. The type of shoes that someone wears tells a lot about their personality and values, from comfort to style. For fun I decided to try and design my own shoe sole based on my passions, particularly being inspired by Japanese culture and design.
Inspiration
Designers
What kick-started this project was watching a documentary about the Ari Menthol 10’s, a controversial sneaker that took on both Nike and Big Tobacco. The history and story of this shoe is fascinating, as it is a sort of bootleg of Nike and Newport menthol cigarettes but with the artist’s spin to Share a message with the staker community. I was also inspired by the story and design of Bape shoes, which follow a similar story yet have avoided the controversy. Particularly being inspired by the designer Jose Wong. 
I highly recommend looking into his work, as he is sort of an underground artist whose work has inspired the mainstream. street fashion around the world.
Culture
Lastly, inspiration came from Japanese design and culture. Shibuya Crossing, a famous busy street crossing, was what I based the toe area of the shoe on, and the The heel of the shoe is based on the Zen gardens, specifically the style in Kyoto. Lastly, I included some typography inspired by the anime Hunter X Hunter.
Implementation
The shoe was first drawn on paper and later modeled in Blender. You can see I am definitely much better at designing in CAD than by hand. While a very simple projec The design aspects and story behind it were fun to do.