Hasta La Ideas

adidas recently unveiled a new silhouette called Deerupt, and if you ever had doubts social media could play a significant role in the design process, it’s time to think again. 

If you religiously follow the sneaker world on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed an overload of images that look almost exactly like this:

It’s easiest to think of toe-down sneaker photos as the the equivalent of the most flattering selfie angle for sneakers, the golden on-foot angle, if you will. adidas designers took this trend observation and used it to inspire a design detail on the Deerupt, a sneaker who’s name is the marriage between “disrupt” and “erupt”. Global Senior Design Director for adidas Originals, Oddbjorn Stavseng told Highsnobiety, “we increasingly see Instagram pictures where people shoot their sneakers with their foot planted down, making sure that the toe is pressed down. So when you see Deerupt, you’ll see this same “toe-down” effect which was a purposeful design choice.” Besides a more exaggerated toe-down angle, one of the most notable Deerupt details is the use of the mesh support originally seen on the adidas Marathon Trainer midsole to cover the entire shoe. 

Marathon Trainer (via Highsnobiety)

It turns out adidas could be onto something with their designed-for-Instagram approach along with picking and choosing more graphic details from past designs. While aimlessly scrolling through Instagram at 2am last night, I came across one of those frustrating Instagram Stories that update you on the platform’s latest features: Think new features in Stories or Live mode. This time it was for an update that allows eight new countries to shop much more seamlessly straight through Instagram.

This feature has been going through a test run in the US, but after overwhelming success, Instagram decided to expand. Basically, to shop an item you like from a post, you just tap your finger on the image to then click on virtual price tags that lead you to—very similar to Pinterest. If your Instagram obsession is already out of control, start preparing for it to affect you monetarily. 

So, how does this relate to product design? We’ve already seen an uptick in companies pouring extra money into Instagram ads, especially when it comes to trendy product subscription services like Quip and Smile Direct Club. So in reality, the move to designing actual products to look good on social media is a natural progression—if not something that’s already been happening subconsciously. 

Whether good or bad for designers, Instagram’s shopping feature rollout makes it clear there’s no more excuses companies to avoid social media. adidas’ choice to dip their toes into introducing social media to the design process is actually forward-thinking and almost too timely, even if the Deerupt is a little… loud. The Deerupts are dropping online tomorrow, and I’m curious to see how often they end up on my Instagram feed.

What’re your thoughts on introducing social media into the product design process? Let us know in the comments.