Solez Skinz

Problem Statement and Statement of Purpose

The problem is people purchasing too many shoes and have limited space to store them in, or only wear a few. This creates unnecessary waste of good shoes and a waste of small spaces. This issue seems to affect women and people traveling with multiple pairs of shoes with limited space like an apartment, closet, dorm or suitcase. This affects people in their everyday life with full closets and when traveling or moving. Shoe sales have increased by 180% over the past 27 years. The average number of shoes owned by men is 12, while women average 27 pairs of shoes. This results in a total average if people owning 19 pairs of shoes, but only wearing about 5 on rotation. More than 85% of women have purchased a pair of shoes that are still sitting in their closets and have never been worn.

Some criteria we want to be included in our shoes are to make sure its performances meet that of a normal shoe. The high functionality of a normal shoe with a smooth zipper is important to make it easy for the user. Comfort ensures that saving space in shoes won't hinder other criteria of the shoe. Safety and meeting international standards makes sure no one is consistently falling or concerned for their health. Making sure the zipper is secure and that it can withstand moderate action and durability. Being environmentally friendly is also a must! These shoes are also limited to the casual market, not athletes or high performance for durability. These shoes are also designed for teens and young adults. The zippers may make it complicated for kids and the elderly, also causing some safety concerns. We are also assuming the attachment and the durability of the zipper is going to be the most complicated aspect of this shoe.

Justification of the Problem

The idea of modular shoes has been around for a while but never been executed well or good enough to go mainstream. The idea is to reduce part of the 300 million shoes that pollute and go to waste every year. Not only are shoes wasted, but perfectly good shoes take up much valuable space in people’s home and moving journey. Modular shoes have been designed in the past, but a major challenge is creating something simple and user-friendly without being over complicated.

Throughout the research process, we interviewed three people and asked a few questions. I found a common theme between answers. The general consensus was that everyone owns and stores about 10 pairs of shoes in their closet but only wear about 3 pairs weekly. Shoes were typically stored in closet shoe racks or spread out covering the floor. This tells us that shoes take up much-needed space.

For the average pair of shoes, the customer requires something lightweight, comfortable, safe, and a decent price. A customer wants a customizable cheap shoe that will last and blend in with the public's shoes. The average weight of a sneaker is 270 grams, and shouldn’t be much heavier for comfort and safety reasons. An ergonomic design such as an arch supported and gel cooled sole can drastically increase comfort for the user. A target cost of 70$ for a skin and sole (35$ for each part) is key for high-quality durable shoes. With the rise of current shoe trends, the modular shoe can be adaptable to a variety of aesthetics to match the customer’s style. These shoes can be used in a variety of environments and activities as long as there are no extreme conditions (casual wear). The product life of average shoes is 2 years with no maintenance, but with a modular design, the skin with a replaced sole can last 10 years, increasing product life by 500%.

The zipper shoe is meant to be a reusable sole that can switch multiple “skins” to save shoe cost, production, and waste. The switch would be done with a coat or invisible zipper so that they are solidly attached without compromising the aesthetic of the normal shoe. The goal is to design it without changing the idea of a shoe too much. Zipper shoes work when starting out with two separate pieces. A sole, and a skin. The ends of the zipper of both pieces will match and slide together like a coat zipper. From there, you zip the shoe together. When the zipper is all the way around, you can lift the flap on the back of the shoe to cover up the zipper ends. This design is green with reusable sole and shoes that you only need to buy more skins for. Skins would be less than the price of a pair of shoes saving more people money. With skins as opposed to shoes, people can save much more space when traveling and storing extra soles or skins.

Current and Past Solutions

Through patent research, I found that there are no other modular shoes in the market. There are however patents for separate pieces of the shoe such as; sole, base, shoelaces, or the entire shoe. With no official patents of a modular shoe, this is a new business to explore that has a lot of potential to grow in the future.

Patent Number: D858976

This patent highlights Nikes Base “Jordans” shoes. They are easily recognizable and Nike has customized them in many different ways. They come up the ankle almost like a boot and have a large stripe over the middle top of the shoe, making it distinct.

Patent Number: D858967

This patent is under armor branded shoe sole it shows the thickness/ how high up the shoe goes as well as the track underneath. This can help in making a hearty strong sole that can stand up to much wear and tear.

Patent Number: D858951

This patent is for a pair of children's shoes. They look alternative and don't include the use of shoelaces in the design. They have an ankle boot design like the jordans mentioned before and have a circular and wavy design. They seem to be ergonomic and have a bubbly heel with no shoe tongue.

Shooz was an already existing Kickstarter with a solution that is similar to a modular shoe that uses zippers for interchangeable Skinz. This made them lightweight, Easy to change, Money saving and takes up less space. This solution falls short because of the lack of sizes and shutting down quickly but still accepting money, making it a scam. Up-Part was an undergrad project for students and only made it to the prototyping phase. This shoe was designed with every aspect of the shoe to be modular with the idea of being endlessly customizable. This design fell short with too many interchangeable pieces making things complicated for the everyday user. Other current competitors include store brand shoe companies like Nike and Adidas who currently have the biggest revenue from the shoe market setting the baseline for an average shoe.

Proposed Solution

I used a mind map for brainstorming what my solution solves and criteria the shoe needs to be designed with. Some solutions brainstormed include using velcro, rubber bands, or zippers. Below you can see a sketch of the rubber band and zipper idea and how each section of the shoe would work with a description of why each solution would be beneficial to build.

Zipper Concept

Rubber Band Concept

Decision Matrix

This is the decision matrix compares my three solutions for separating the skin and soles of the shoes. I scored each solution and the original shoes with a score of 1-5 based on different criteria and multiplied the score based on the weight or how important it was. I weighed functionality, safety, environmental factors, and reusability the heaviest because they were most important for my design to be successful. The zipper solution was the clear winner after all scoring.

The current product that is being designed is a pair of modular shoes with removable and interchangeable skins and soles. We have decided that zippers between the shoe skin and the sole is the best way to achieve this effect. This is to solve the problem of people having limited space to store shoes as well as people traveling with multiple pairs of shoes. The plan is to make them recyclable and to save a number of shoes that go to waste. Currently, the target audience is 16-35-year-old men and women that own multiple pairs of casual athletic shoes. This directly competes with the current shoe competition and helps us determine current shoe trends to appeal to the modern audience. The risk of modular shoes being too advanced or complicated is always there, but with such a large stable shoe market and such a small change being made to the shoe this project is worth investing in. Overall these shoes would change how people put on, customize, store, and recycle shoes for the better saving space, money, and the environment for consumers.

Prototype Planning and Construction

Product Life cycle

The product life cycle poster shows the process that shoes go through from being made, packaged, bought, and recycled. This gives everyone an idea of each part of the whole contributes and why each part is important for the others to function. This is also similar to the prototyping process in which I have to assemble them, design packaging for them, and wear and test how they wear and how they can be upgraded.

Lean Buissness Model

The lean business model shown below is an organized chart to communicate to others why my idea works and if it's tangible or not. It shows what my object solves, how it works, why it’s unique, the market, the cost to make and how it would be sold all with a quick glance. This is something I can print on a page and give a customer, business, or retailer to understand the business I am running and how things are supposed to work. It also communicated to others that I’ve put in the time and research to make my idea tangible.

Orthographic Drawing

Here are my measured detail orthographic drawings. I made a top, front, and side view of both the skin and sole part of my shoe. I based the measurements off of a women's size eight and a half shoes that I personally already had. The sole is drawn with a zipper around the top with the start and end towards the heel. The skin of the shoe has the other half of the zipper on the bottom and lines up.

Prototype

Prototype Cost

This diagram lists everything purchased for my working prototype. How many of each item was purchased and where it was purchased from with the price. Overall I spent about $81.29 on the working prototype. Below you can the sole and skin as separate pieces and together. The shoe was taken apart with scissors and an Exacto knife and the zipper was attached to both ends of the shoe with hot glue. The zipper connects at the back of the shoe.

Testing and Evaluation of Data

For testing functionality, we need to see how well a zipper can hold up on a shoe through an endurance test while wearing them (can be compared with a before and after picture and needs to be done after it’s built). Comfort can be tested with qualitative opinions of people and asking how it is and how they would improve it. Safety can be tested by changing the skin of the shoe and doing jumping, running, and high activity to make sure it stays on. We can test the smooth transition of the shoe by asking people to change them multiple times and asking their opinions. The aesthetic can be tested by making mock-ups and asking the general public what they think is best (like a server)

Testing will take place over this upcoming weekend (December 14-15). All tests will take place at Home walking around.

Most important is functionality. We need a comfortable and safe shoe that works with changing skin smoothly. Next, we want it to last longer. After that we want the shoe to be environmentally friendly. Last would be aesthetic colors and how it looks, we want it to look good but after it works.

For initial conditions, the prototype is completed and can be interchangeable with the other sole and skin. A benchmark will be done with a normal pair of shoes for comparison.

Materials would include two pairs of soles and skins and a timer for changing between them. A yoga mat for the floor for safety. A pair of normal shoes can be used to compare data.

Shoe code and regulations include Certified third party testing, regulating Federal Hazardous Substances, Flammability of Clothing, Toxic Substance Control, Environmental Claims. I feel as though our team has met ethical; expertise related to our product design in this document and can follow any regulations needed during the process. For safety, I have decided for my dad to walk around only on the carpet for a safe fall and a yoga mat for the high-intensity activities.

Final Product and Presentation

Engineering shoe Presentation

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