100 Days of Sole
A series of interviews that explore the intersection of branding, identity, and self-expression.
Research +
Multi-media Publishing
Personal Project
Challenge
This project was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's painting, “A Pair of Shoes” which has played a significant role in modern philosophy surrounding art, its reception, and its relationship to the history of ideas.
I performed a contemporary exploration of the concept, featuring designers, artists, and great creatives of our time. Resulting in a series of 100 stories — part footwear, part identity, and part diary — published daily.
Why Shoes?
My personal mission in the field branding is centered around the ability to foster community, self-expression, and personal growth. And in my research I found cultural and historical links between shoes and the psychological concept of “individuation” — that is, the process of becoming one’s own unique person.
Interesting Discoveries
All 3 mary-jane style shoe submissions contained stories of Mother and Daughter relationships — including the ones submitted by my own mother.
All 3 New Balances submitted came from highly successful and creative entrepreneurs.
All 3 Converses submitted were from people who were either career musicians or had once played or studied music professionally.
The oldest person I interviewed was 92 years-old ... and the youngest was 6 years-old.
I interviewed 100 people in total — including some of my personal heroes — and uploaded their stories to Instagram and the project website daily.
I shared a video of my interview with Dorothea Bozicolona Volpe — one of the Keynote speakers from this year’s HOW Design Live conference.
I interviewed shoe expert, Meghan Cleary, about how shoes’ transformative nature far exceeds their superficial reputation — and published an article outlining our conversation on Medium.
All stories and additional content available at: