Nike Hypervenom II Design Q&A

The revolutionary Nike Hypervenom 2 Boot was launched earlier this week in Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium. Having evolved a lot since the first generation Hypervenom from two years ago, the new Nike Hypervenom 2 introduces a Dynamic Fit collar and Flywire technology.

Nathan VanHook, Senior Footwear Design Director for Nike Football and Phil Woodman, Nike Football Footwear Designer, sat down with Highsnobiety to explain the design process behind the Hypervenom 2.

How does the design process work for a brand new product like this?

I think for football in particular, the amount of things you have to solve – like most footwear you just have to secure the foot and provide cushioning – but with football you need to have good traction for all surfaces; they need to have amazing touch and a lot of players are so detailed in the touch they want. It’s a lot of going back and forth with different prototypes [Hypervenom 2 Prototypes] to see what we can tweak and update.

In terms of the design process, when do you reach the point when you know the boot is finished?

I think the key is going back and forth with the players. When we set out these goals at the beginning we work with the players and once we tick off these goals and once it looks like a super unified product and every detail has worked out – then we know we’ve had a success.

The process of collecting data from the player, creating the design, making the prototype, and circling that over and over until you arrive at the final product – how does that work?

Every process lasts for about two to four years. You have to stay dedicated and you have to obsess over every issue of the shoes. So starting from insights – you’re just ticking off against the problems, creating solutions and constantly evolving. You go back and forth with the player, get their feedback, and inject the new into it.

How far along into the process does the style aspect come in?

We’re constantly thinking about style. So you start integrating elements of this a few months into the process. Performance goes hand-in-hand with style – you can’t just slap a graphic design on it at the end. It wouldn’t work.

How has the NikeSkin developed and come into play in the Hypervenom II boot?

We’ve been developing it for many years now – it’s just constantly developing. We’re using new polymers to allow it to be softer and thinner and closer to the foot to increase that touch on the ball for the player.

Read the full Hypervenom II Q&A at Highsnobiety.