After five years spent designing signature and performance footwear in the Portland, Ore., offices of Adidas, alumnus Cheng Kue relocated to Colorado in 2009 to help Crocs, Inc. expand beyond its well-known casual, rubber shoes.
- Name: Cheng Kue
- Degree: Industrial Design, 2002
- Title: Senior footwear designer at Crocs, Inc.
- Years on the job: Three
He sees his job as pushing the company out of its creative comfort zone. “Crocs is a very young but motivated company,” Kue says. “My vision and designs for the brand can exceed its ability to accept innovation beyond its current businesses. But as the company matures, the product line and innovation will set up Crocs to be a leader.” Kue’s first big project with the company was Crocs Golf, a line of golf shoes that premiered at the 2012 PGA Tour Merchandise Show, where it won the best new product award. Kue credits his time at Tech for helping him succeed in the world of shoe design. “The industrial design program really taught me how to think,” he said. “It gave me the tools to explore my creativity and to always be finding solutions.”
An average day It consists of strategic meetings for discussing future innovation for the brand, designing new innovative products, developing product for market and managing young, aspiring designers.
Tools of the job For creating conceptual ideas, I simply draw in a sketchbook or napkins to get out ideas. For refinement, I use a Wacom Cintiq tablet along with Alias Sketchbook Pro or Adobe Illustrator to illustrate and iterate the concepts. As the product refines, I will build concept models from foam, leather and textiles.
Design inspiration I find inspiration from traveling around the world and experiencing new cultures and products, or walking on a trail and just thinking of new solutions. Inspiration is everywhere. As many products as I’ve created, it’s still is amazing when you find new solutions for old problems.
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