
design and technology .07
Robert McCaffrey - Graduate of Product Design
Products for Purpose
“life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving.”
Robert shared with us the insights and experiences he had that led him to his clever and classic designs. Having become a footwear designer, specialising in smart shoes for commuter cyclists, he has successfully designed for a real context and filled a hole in the footwear industry. His creations are designed for a very specific function, smart cycling. A smart shoe with a rubber panel in the soul to stop your flat-bottomed smart shoe from slipping of the pedal when wet, using materials that allow feet to breathe when the body is exerted. I ‘popped-collar’ style heal to make the shoes reflective when in the light at night. And my favourite feature was the show that made use of the patterned leather and underneath was a reflective layer that was so subtle you could only tell when the lights were off and we all got our phone torches out. I found this lecture very interesting, not only because Robert was engaging and had an interesting story to tell but because of the market he was selling to. After spending a semester designing for ‘the cyclist’ I have a pretty good idea in my head of who my customer is, someone very different to Robert McCaffrey’s customer. It opened my eyes and reminded me that despite being under the same umbrella, ‘the cyclist’, it is very important to remember the many different types of people you could be designing for and to not lump them all together within the same title. Robert highlighted just how important it is to have an image, and solid idea in your head of who it is your designing for and why.
“everyone is a genius. but if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
- both quotes Albert Einsein