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| A sole with soul |
Today is the first day after
Steve Jobs has passed away. I am a big admirer of his, of
Apple itself, and of the philosophy of innovation they both have bestowed on designers worldwide. Most of the time,
Apple isn’t inventing its products from scratch…it is in fact just taking ideas that are already out there and applying its own brilliance on the category.
Apple did not invent the smartphone, for instance…and the
iPhone isn’t even always the best in terms of its capabilities or specifications…but few would argue that it isn’t the most beautiful, artful, approachable piece of tech kit on the market. The same holds true for the
Macintosh computer. It wasn’t the first personal computer, but it was one of the most beautiful and the easiest to use (characteristics that apply today, in my opinion).
In short,
Apple takes a category, applies its unique approach and philosophy, and comes out with a product that few can touch for aesthetics, quality, and user experience. They have been able to parlay that pursuit of perfection into a number of great products like the
iPhone,
iPad,
Mac, and even
Apple TV (a sleeper product of which I am a fan). They changed the way we experience the music industry and the way we buy albums with
iTunes. They are changing the way we get news, the way we watch TV, and the way we communicate. The fans of
Apple are many. Often,
Apple fans are loyal to a fault, using
Apple products exclusively. They wait on baited breath for months for the next big release, looking daily at tech blogs like
Gizmodo or the like, just to catch a glimpse not of any common new product, but of a new product that often has the capability to change the way they experience something in their daily life.
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| Clean lines |
For runners, running is part of our daily life. For running bloggers like me, a lot of hours are spent (wasted?) keeping up on running shoe tech, training science, running technique debates, and race experiences and the careers of the elite athletes. I get excited about new releases in the shoe market in particular. I am looking forward to the
Altra Lone Peak zero-drop trail shoe, for instance. It would have probably been my go-to shoe for my first ultra, the
Stumpjump 50k, which I completed on Saturday. I am anxious to try the
New Balance Minimus Zero early next year. On Monday, I bought a pair of
Brooks Pure Project Pure Connect shoes..I had been waiting on those for months. There are literally dozens of things that will be released next year in running (mostly related to minimal or natural running) that I just can’t wait to see. However, one seems to stand apart from the crowd a bit. To me,
Skora Running is the
Apple of running shoes.
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| Careful palette |
Why does
Skora get this distinction? There are a number of reasons. First…design. It is clear that these guys are concerned about aesthetics and design throughout their entire brand presence. Product, website, marketing materials, social networks, etc. They all get the same, consistent, slick contemporary design that instantly identifies them as
Skora. The carefully selected color palettes of their product are mimicked throughout their brand. Fonts are clean and have that “
Helvetica” edge that makes them look like a shoe company an architect would love. Their design clearly incorporates some new approaches to minimalist or natural running footwear that should set them apart. The language coming from their methodical, visionary founders is infused with passion for excellence, not necessarily bottom-line thinking. Like
Steve Jobs, though…I am confident that their care and craft should result in success and market leadership down the line.
The way
Skora may be the most like
Apple, however, is the deliberate and clever way they have generated buzz and interest in their product with rumors, speculation, and teasers of their philosophy, methods, and products (whether or not that was on purpose, I have no idea). They have hit on all the right buttons for me…a careful message about
natural running, attractive and progressive industrial design, and providing just enough information to generate an appetite for their product without showing their hand in full. They’ve been showing us little elements of their fine finished products for some time, and full screen shots of their line have not really been made available yet.
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| Textures and defining design |
So
Skora wants to provide the running community with a beautiful product that allows the human body to run naturally, or run “real” in their words.
Skora is counting on care and quality, based on deliberate design and planning, to carve out their niche in the
minimalist shoe market.
Skora have differentiated themselves from the rest of the
minimalist shoe market with a product and campaign based as much on the look and feel of their line and company as on simple function. Can you imagine if
Steve Jobs had come out with the
iPhone and spend most of his keynote talking about how it can also be used as a phone to call people? No, he spent those anxiously anticipated talks describing how
iPhones were different, special, and progressive. The function was always there, but form was as well. I have always admired how at
Apple, form didn’t follow function, they were equal.
Skora, I believe, sees the importance of this and has chosen to concentrate on form perhaps more than any other startup in the industry.
Skora may not start out as the biggest or most widespread shoe company out there, but I have a feeling that when you wear
Skoras to your weekly group run, your kicks will be the envy of everyone around you.
Thanks,
Steve Jobs for setting the pace when it comes to design in business…you will be missed but your legacy lives on in the many thousands of innovators like
Skora who know that form and beauty should never be lost in any business.
Skora will have a number of products when they eventually hit stores very early in 2012.
Elite Feet in Brighton will be one of the first stores to carry this groundbreaking shoe, which doesn't surprise me as they clearly "get it" when it comes to design, function, and progress in the running industry (read my report on their shop
HERE). If you have been in there you know it looks like an art gallery for runners...and come to think of it there is an
iPad and a
Mac in place of a cash register.
Skora should fit right in.
