Designer - Color, Materials & Graphics, Footwear

Adidas; Portland (OR); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work policy

Education assistance

Parental leave

Stock plan

Job summary

Adidas in Portland, Oregon seeks a designer to craft footwear color and material concepts for NAM iterations within global ranges. You will prepare compelling design presentations, collaborate with Marketing, Development, and Design teams, and support the category range strategy with cross-functional input.

Travel to Asia may be required for development trips. Strong knowledge of fashion/industrial design, English fluency, and a passion for storytelling through design are essential for success

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree or equivalent in a design field with visual design knowledge.
• At least 3 years in design for footwear/apparel or related areas.
• Strong ability to present and communicate concepts clearly.

Responsibilities

• Design footwear color and material for NAM/global ranges with input from marketing and development.
• Create design presentations in both physical and digital formats.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Development, and cross-functional teams.
• Travel to Asia for development trips as needed.
• Contribute to category range strategy and merchandising alignment.

Skills

Fashion design knowledge

Industrial design

Presentation skills

Brand storytelling

Team collaboration

Color and material sense

Education

Bachelor degree in Design or industrial product engineering

Equivalent combination of education/experience

3 years practical design experience

Tools

Photoshop

Illustrator

PowerPoint/Keynote

Job description

PURPOSE & OVERALL RELEVANCE FOR THE ORGANISATION

To design market right / industry leading executions of Footwear through color, material, graphics, and construction in cooperation with marketing and development.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Continuously aware of information needed to design a consumer and brand relevant collection. Should include all possible sources to gain this information:

• Trade fairs, cultural events, and sporting events, athlete insights
• Trade publications, general interest press, trend services, fashion and sportswear magazines and websites
• Store checks, market visits, and team travel as provided
• Relevant forecast and sell-through numbers from our Marketing counterparts

Assists in seasonal and long-term design direction for their category within the following topics:

• Footwear
• Footwear Materials
• Silhouettes
• Graphics/Print Direction

Contributes to aforementioned design direction by, but not limited to:

• Providing trend forecasting content relevant to our consumer and brand
• Providing direction and assisting in developing materials with the Material Team
• Working with Local and Global counterparts to provide category relative Color and Material direction when required
• Supports M3/M2 Senior Team Lead to build content for collaborative stakeholders among Marketing, Product Managers, Designers and between Key Account and Inline
• Proactively creates product stories and concepts ahead of season, sharing with and refining with the wider team.

Works closely with members of the category's design team. This includes but is not limited to:

• Providing Color and Material content and direction
• Collaboration and critiquing
• To understand technical details of the product

Builds top-line range strategy into their product range. This includes but is not limited to:

• Support Senior Team Lead by owning holistic category overviews, rollouts, and merchandising strategy for the category
• Supports communication content to Footwear, Apparel, and Graphics Teams to align strategy
• Support and inform horizontal brand moments and category moments by leading products, Color and Material narratives/executions, and tiered rollout plans in partnership with Design, Marketing, and CTC. This is a collaborative effort across disciplines & functions together.

PRODUCT EXECUTION

Design Footwear Color and Material executions for NAM iterations of Global Range and/or Key Account ranges with input from Design, Marketing, and Development. This includes but is not limited to:

• Seasonal prep and research stated above
• Creates product design presentations; both physical and digital
• Exploratory process to reach final solution
• Creates Color CADs, Material Maps& Graphic Maps.
• Visualize ideas for products and ranges with a high degree of expertise.
• Considers the larger impact of creating merchandized range
• Works closely with Development to assist in development process & costing; meet development timelines and calendar deadlines per seasonal milestone.
• Open to Travel to Asia for development trips
• Assists in communicating inspiration and storytelling to Marketing

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• Marketing
• Development
• Design Team members + Cross category design counterparts.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong knowledge of fashion design/industrial product or industrial design
• Strong presentation and communication skills
• Good knowledge of product development, material and trims for assigned product range
• Passion for Design
• High level of creativity + storytelling through design
• Knowledge and use of Macintosh computer design software/systems (Photoshop, Illustrator, Power Point/Key Note)
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)
• Footwear design work/experience is a plus (Upper pattern work/concept ideation).
• Understanding of brand history and current positioning
• Understanding of marketplace (footwear/streetwear/urban) history, consumer, and current positioning
• Has a strong understanding of color and material trends, application, and cycles
• Ability to understand design concepts and think conceptually
• Ability to create designs that meet category needs and commercial opportunities
• Ability to design for new initiatives and products with a fresh, innovative perspective
• Ability to operate in a fast pace, ever changing work environment
• Works well in a team environment. This position requires employee to engage with many stakeholders, as well as manage various information and relationships
• Ability and desire to push themselves, others, and the brand forward.
• Ability to influence and collaborate with key business partners

REQUISITE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE / MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor degree (B.A.) from a college or university, major Design or industrial product engineering or equivalent experience
• Equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be substituted for degree
• Thorough knowledge of art and design with clear understanding of visual design or any design related environment
• 3 years of practical experience in design environment (Footwear/ Apparel/ Accessories - or industrial design, fashion design or similar design related areas)

• adidas celebrates diversity, supports inclusiveness and encourages individual expression in our workplace. We actively encourage individuals with disabilities to apply and will provide reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. We do not tolerate the harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
• adidas offers robust and progressive medical, including HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer funding or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) options, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, adoption, with surrogate and fertility support, short and long-term disability, and basic life and AD&D insurance. Employees are able to enroll in adidas' 401k plan and Stock Purchase Plan with employer match. Full-time employees are eligible for education assistance and generous Leave policies including 14 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on company performance. Employees accrue prorated flexible time off in the amount .4388 hours per day that increases with years of service, twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year and Service Time Off during milestone years.
• At adidas we offer a Hybrid work policy which requires attendance in the office Monday through Thursday, with the flexibility to work remotely on Friday each week. For work requiring a high degree of collaboration or an in-person presentation, in-office attendance is required even on Friday. The working location of this position is Portland, Oregon.
• Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.