GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO and NIKE AIR ZOOM FREAK 1 were born with the Nike spirit of "listening to athletes". Every participant is an audience in Giannis Antetokounmpo. The first full-range product line of striker 2 1 1 cm, which cooperated with Nike, condensed the hard work of the participants. Giannis Antetokounmpo described it like this at that time: "I thought there would only be about five people. Simply talking to me about what kind of sneakers they like, the result is not that simple at all. "I didn't expect so many people to participate in this project. I am surprised by the number of people in the whole team, the degree to which they want me to participate in product development, and the space for me to show myself. "
It's not easy to listen to the athletes. In addition to direct dialogue, careful observation is also indispensable. Nike designers and engineers care about all the subtleties of athletes' performance and personality on the field. Their job is to solve special problems for special athletes through various studies. The uniqueness of Nike Air Zoom Freak 1 is that it combines the above two aspects of "listening" to become a pair of sneakers that can show Giannis Antetokounmpo's physical condition, personal style and the culture he represents.
Nike Air Zoom Freak 1 Physical condition Giannis Antetokounmpo occupies a huge area on the court, which is the key and most essential problem to be solved by Nike Air Zoom Freak 1. Ross Klein, senior creative director of Nike basketball shoes, said: "He uses space very efficiently. He is good at using his physical advantage to make defenders lose their positions. For example, when he made a European step layup, the most threatening left foot crossed a very exaggerated range. With this step alone, he can instantly open a huge space almost two steps wide with his opponent. "
Nike Air Zoom Freak 1 is equipped with a double-layer zoom air cushion in the back palm. In order to match Giannis Antetokounmpo's threatening pace on the court, special grip lines are set on both sides of the sole-thumb and little finger area-to help him locate accurately when striding, provide all-round grip performance, and take into account more basic needs to help him occupy a good position on the defensive end. All this is due to the lateral support provided by the covering system in the sports shoe and the rubber patch extending from the sole to the midsole. These details are the basis for Giannis Antetokounmpo to achieve better results. The double-layer Zoom Air air cushion used in the heel of sports shoes brings a wonderful balance between feedback and cushioning performance to Nike Air Zoom Freak 1, and also gives sports shoes a unique personality visually. Some design details on these sneakers pay tribute to another Nike signature basketball shoe series that Giannis Antetokounmpo has always loved.
"I have been wearing Kobe's sneakers since I was a child. Fit, foot feel and functionality have always suited me. " This also makes Zoom Freak 1 series by going up one flight of stairs. Ross Klein said: "These characteristics are the reasons why Giannis Antetokounmpo loves the Kobe series so much, and they are also the places where we hope to improve again."
Nike Air Zoom Freak 1 is equipped with a double-layer zoom air cushion in the back palm, which transforms personal preference into exquisite design, and using a double-layer zoom air cushion in the back palm is one of the steps. It is another key step to present Giannis Antetokounmpo's personal identity in all directions. Giannis Antetokounmpo said: "In the design of the logo, many elements were incorporated to show my life-representing my family, Zznja and Greece. These all make me very excited. "
Giannis Antetokounmpo's personal logo is presented by a combination of logos with various styles and different fonts. This task is undertaken by the Nike graphic logo team. Together with the sports shoes design team, they created this personal logo, pattern and font system dedicated to Giannis Antetokounmpo to tell the story of the athlete. For them, logo design is an art. Shaun Batt, artistic director of product graphic design, said: "Our goal is to create visual works that can visually show the characteristics of athletes." For Giannis Antetokounmpo, this means that everything about his family and his mythical rise in sports will be presented on one symbol and balanced.
In order to achieve this goal, the Nike graphic logo team turned their attention to ancient Greece and sought inspiration from it, and finally found the answer on the Greek zigzag pattern. In the history of art, this pattern of palindrome structure is called meander, which symbolizes the eternal cycle. For Giannis Antetokounmpo, this symbol has two meanings: on the surface, the aesthetic design of ancient Athens represents his hometown; A deeper meaning is that his family came to Greece from Nigeria? The journey from Athens to Milwaukee.
The pattern of the main logo echoes the prefix of Giannis Antetokounmpo's name, and the letter "G" is embedded in "A", which means that the surname is always greater than the personal name. The maze pattern originated from the tortuous course of heroic achievements in Greek classic stories, and the "G" with a corner cut off at the lower left highlighted Giannis Antetokounmpo's unusual athletic talent. After all, it is because of his exaggerated figure and agile talent that he has the title of "Greek freak".
In addition, a series of personalized logo systems supplemented the main logo, not only with Giannis Antetokounmpo's exclusive fonts, but also with three secondary logos. Among them, the logo combining the number "34" on the back and the Greek flag will appear at the heel of Nike Air Zoom Freak 1.
By analyzing Giannis Antetokounmpo's main logo culture, the personal logo belonging to Giannis Antetokounmpo opened the door for the birth of his personal brand and laid the foundation for the clothing products that Nike clothing design team wanted to build. Samuel Shipley, senior creative director of Nike basketball apparel, and Dustin Mangan, a fashion designer, worked together to create a set of apparel covering basketball culture by showing Giannis Antetokounmpo's personal experience and legend.
Dustin Mangan said, "The story of Giannis Antetokounmpo is incredible. His love for his motherland, Greece, and his reverence for his family's journey provided us with a lot of inspiration when designing products for him. We combine European luxury style and comfort to represent him personally. " The first batch of Giannis Antetokounmpo series products are simple in style, including the minimalist design of "Greek Monster" interpreted by Nike's classic Futura font, as well as the design that pays tribute to those aspects that have far-reaching influence on him, including his sports world and the Sai Paulia neighborhood where the hard life created the Giannis Antetokounmpo brothers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's signature shorts are mainly designed with his personal logo, which elegantly and vividly shows the vitality of European luxury sportswear. The back of the vest is designed with his personal logo printing details, while the pocket of the sportswear is decorated with the logo with the number "34" on the back and the Greek flag. Some people may think that joining the Nike signature sneaker club-an honor that only belongs to great elite athletes-will change the humble Giannis Antetokounmpo. But this is not the case. Giannis Antetokounmpo said, "Frankly speaking, I never dreamed that I could own my own signature shoes. When I was growing up, my goal was always to enter the NBA, play hard and help the team win. This is just the icing on the cake. "
Giannis Antetokounmpo's iconic clothing product line includes shorts and socks, as well as sportswear, vests and T-shirts Nike Zoom Freak 1 "All Bros", which will be sold in designated stores on June 30th. Black and white Nike Zoom Freak 1 and Giannis Antetokounmpo's first clothing series will be sold one after another on July1.