So putting some more thoughts into my final paper. I think I want to head into the direction of sneaker culture. I am really into sneakers and the culture of how it evolved and expanded. Also how it has changed through pastime. Just in that sense, I don’t know where to go from there to apply it to this particular paper… Just trying to get an early start on this and not wait until the last minute.
Interaction Culture: The Class Blog
Official Class Blog of "I590: Interaction Culture" (Indiana University School of Informatics)
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February 15, 2013 at 4:44 pm
jeffreybardzell
I think sneaker culture is an interesting topic, and certainly one worth pursuing in the confines of this class.
The next step is to start thinking about different angles, or ways of thinking about this.
In other words, there are many ways to think about sneakers–as designs or consumer products, as a unique form of fashion, as a form of personal expression, etc.
One angle that interests me is that for most of us, our love of sneakers is part of our fantasies about being elite athletes. When I first laced up my Bauer skates with Tuuk blades, I immediately (and, er, somewhat irrationally) compared myself to Peter Bondra. My brother in law is a huge fan of basketball and is a serious amateur player. His collection of Air Jordans is formidable. But unlike us, you actually are an elite athlete. Thus, sneakers for you must have a unique set of meanings that they don’t have for non-athletes. For example, maybe (?) you feel a pressure to be fashionable on the court, or maybe you have a desire to express your personality on the court, and sneakers might be a part of that. Do sneakers have different meanings for professional or quasi-professional athletes than they do for weekend warriors?
Probably that’s an empirical question, but as a promising start, you can start asking yourself reflective questions about what sneakers mean to you, whether you have personal stories about a given pair (e.g., a “lucky pair” that you were wearing when something awesome happened), what if anything your teammates say about your choices, etc. How do sneakers come to be meaningful to you?
Then you can start to think analytically about the roles of design (materials, forms, colors, connotations, features) and marketing in contributing to those personal meanings.
February 16, 2013 at 12:39 pm
Tsaiyi
Hello,
Again, I am not sure am I doing the right way to try to help you. But my disciplinary training gives me the instinct to link some social phenomenon with a relevant theory in order to help me to articulate the ideas in discussion.
The theory that I thought might be relevant here, is Colin Campbell’s seminal book The Romantic Ethic and the Spirit of Modern Capitalism, in which he explains how consumption (of sneakers) is prompt of the romantic ethic of self-expression. Certainly our act of consumption has much more complicate meaning than self-expression, and Mark Paterson’s introductory book Consumption and Everyday Life might be helpful in his discussion of social meaning of consumption from different aspects.
I have PDF files of part of the resources mentioned here. So email me if you are interested.
I hope this piece of info helps,
Tsaiyi
February 26, 2013 at 2:14 pm
schaplin22
Hi Tsaiyi,
Thanks for the suggestion. Do you mind sending me the PDF files please?
Thank You
February 17, 2013 at 2:33 am
slouraine
This article reminded me a little bit of your topic, Sasha: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671346/kickstarting-an-ultra-minimal-shoe-inspired-by-amazon-natives#1