ergonomics in footwear and leather goods design
The principles used in the design of various styles of footwear and leather goods for the correct anatomic and ergonomic proportions and measurements.
Footwear designers perform fashion trends analysis, forecasting and market research, create footwear concepts and build collection lines by operating mood or concept boards, colour palettes, materials, drawings and sketches etc. They conduct the sampling process, make footwear prototypes and samples for presentations aimed to promoting the footwear concepts and collections. They identify the range of materials and components, define the design specifications by collaborating with the technical team and review the footwear samples, prototypes, and collections.
Competences and skills
34 ESCO relationsEssential knowledge 8 competences
Occupation specific
0 competencesNo competences in this bucket.
Sector-specific
8 competencesfootwear and leather goods marketing planning
The principles and methods used in creating a marketing plan and how a company can best position itself compared to its competitors, taking into account the specifities of the footwear and leather goods market.
footwear components
Footwear components both for uppers (vamps, quarters, linings, stiffeners, toe puffs etc.) and bottoms (soles, heels, insoles etc.). Ecological concerns and the importance of recycling. Selection of suitable materials and components based on their influence on the footwear style and characteristics, properties and manufacturability. Procedures and methods in chemical and mechanical processing of leather and non-leather materials.
green
footwear creation process
Footwear creation projects starting from inspiration to technical design and manufacturing by following several stages. Latest trends in footwear materials, components, processes, and concepts.
footwear manufacturing technology
Footwear processes technology and machinery involved. The footwear manufacturing starts in the cutting/clicking room , cutting the uppers and bottom components. The upper components are joined together in the closing room by following a precise order of specific operations: skiving, folding, sewing etc. The closed upper, the insole and other bottom components are brought together in the assembling room, where the main operations are lasting and soling. The process ends with finishing operations in the finishing and packing room.
footwear materials
The characteristics, components, advantages and limitations of a wide range of materials used in footwear production: leather, leather substitutes (synthetics or artificial materials), textile, plastic, rubber etc.
footwear quality
Quality specifications of materials, processes and final products, the most common defects in footwear, quick tests procedures, laboratory tests procedures and standards, adequate equipment for quality checks. Quality assurance of footwear production processes and fundamental concepts on quality including footwear quality framework and standards.
last types
Different types of lasts and their characterisations. This includes the procedure for last placement and basic work environment with the last.
Cross-sector
0 competencesNo competences in this bucket.
Essential skills and competences 17 competences
Occupation specific
0 competencesNo competences in this bucket.
Sector-specific
11 competencesanalyse types of footwear
Identify different footwear types: shoe, boot, sandals, casual, sportive, high-end, comfort, occupational, etc. Characterise different footwear parts considering their function. Convert sizes from one sizing system to another.
apply fashion trends to footwear and leather goods
Be able to stay up to date on the latest styles, attending fashion shows and review fashion/clothing magazines and manuals, analysing the past and present fashion trends in areas such as footwear, leather goods and clothing market. Use analytical thinking and creative models to apply and to interpret in a systematic way the upcoming trends in terms of fashion and life styles.
create mood boards
Create mood boards for fashion or interior design collections, gathering different sources of inspirations, sensations, trends, and textures, discussing with the people involved in the project to make sure that the shape, design, colours, and the global genre of the collections fit the order or the related artistic project.
create patterns for footwear
Produce the mean form or shell, a two-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional shape of the last. Create scaled patterns for uppers and bottom components by manual methods from the designs.
create technical sketches for footwear
Be able to use various sketching and drawing techniques, including artistic representation, by hand or by computer, being aware of proportion and perspective, to sketch and draw footwear, lasts, soles, heels etc., both as 2D flat designs or as 3D volumes. Be able to prepare specification sheets with details of materials, components and manufacturing requirements.
develop footwear and leather goods marketing plans
Be able to develop marketing plans and provide directions for marketing strategies of the company, as well as be able to identify potential markets and to perform marketing activities to promote the footwear products of the company.
develop footwear collection
Transform footwear design ideas and concepts into prototypes and, finally, a collection. Analyse and check the designs from various angles like functionality, aesthetics, comfort, performance and manufacturability. Manage the development process of all the footwear prototypes in order to meet the customer’s needs and to properly balance quality with production costs.
implement footwear marketing plan
Implement marketing plans according to company specifications, complying with market demand.
perform pattern grading
Know about cutting patterns accurately and grading the patterns to obtain the size series in case of mass production. Know how to mark notches, holes, seam allowances, and other technical specifications. Make adjustments and obtain the final patterns for cutting in order to compensate any identified problems during sampling.
reduce environmental impact of footwear manufacturing
Assess the environmental impact of footwear manufacture and minimise environmental risks. Reduce environmentally harmful work practices in different stages of the footwear manufacturing.
green
work in textile manufacturing teams
Work harmoniously with colleagues in teams in the textile and clothing manufacturing industries.
Cross-sector
6 competencescommunicate commercial and technical issues in foreign languages
Speak one or more foreign languages in order to communicate commercial and technical issues with various suppliers and clients.
innovate in footwear and leather goods industry
Innovate in the footwear and leather goods sector. Evaluate new ideas and concepts to turn them into marketable products. Use entrepreneurial thinking in all stages of the product and process development to identify new business opportunities for the targeted markets.
make technical drawings of fashion pieces
Make technical drawings of wearing apparel, leather goods and footwear including both technical and engineering drawings. Use them to communicate or to convey design ideas and manufacturing details to pattern makers, technologists, toolmakers, and equipment producers or to other machine operators for sampling and production.
perform market research in footwear
Perform market research on the company’s customers, selecting and applying the right marketing strategies for footwear industry. Apply the mix of marketing (product, prices, promotion, and distribution) to contextual conditions of the company. Forecast how various factors as environment, technological innovation, buying behaviour etc. influence the marketing and merchandising of the footwear produced by the company.
use communication techniques
Apply techniques of communication which allow interlocutors to better understand each other and communicate accurately in the transmission of messages.
use IT tools
Application of computers, computer networks and other information technologies and equipment to storing, retrieving, transmitting and manipulating data, in the context of a business or enterprise.
digital
Optional knowledge 1 competence
Occupation specific
0 competencesNo competences in this bucket.
Sector-specific
1 competenceCAD for footwear
The architecture and functionality of 2D and 3D computer assisted design software systems for footwear.
digital
Cross-sector
0 competencesNo competences in this bucket.
Optional skills and competences 8 competences
Occupation specific
0 competencesNo competences in this bucket.
Sector-specific
7 competencescreate 3D CAD footwear prototypes
Be able to read and understand visual elements and technical design specifications from hand-made or computer-made sketches, pictures and drawings. Digitise or scan the lasts. Create the design upon the shape of the lasts according to dimensional requirements of the customer. Perform 3D footwear modelling by using various functionalities of the CAD software such as producing, manipulating and testing virtual images for computer aided 3D artistic and technical design of footwear. Produce alternative designs and develop virtual models and collection lines. Make presentation boards and catalogues.
digital
design 2D pattern for footwear 3D visualisation
Prepare the 2D pattern, identify the positioning of elements and possibility of type and properties of footwear choice, for visualisation on the 3D avatar as well as the rendering technologies to obtain a realistic garment.
operate 2D CAD for footwear
Be able to read and interpret design specification to transfer 3D virtual models, computer made drawings and handmade sketches into the 2D environment of the CAD software. Flatten and work with digitised shells. Use scanners and tablets. Produce, adjust and modify 2D designs of all patterns, including technical specifications, for various footwear construction types with 2D CAD systems. Grade and make the nesting. Produce technical sheets.
digital
prepare footwear samples
Create, test and verify prototypes or samples of footwear against a predefined set of criteria throughout all stages of the manufacturing process. Revise the initial design concepts and implement technical improvements.
use CAD for heels
Digitise and scan the lasts. Work with files in various CAD systems. Produce 3D models of heels and create 2D computer aided designs. Grade and obtain the size series. Prepare technical specifications for manufacturing. Produce 2D and 3D computer aided engineering designs and technical drawings of moulds for vulcanised and injected heels. Export the files of the virtual models to 3D printers, CAM or CNC systems.
digital
use CAD for lasts
Be able to digitise and scan the lasts. Work with various 2D and 3D CAD systems and use the software to adopt and transform the shape of the lasts according to dimensional requirements of the customer. Making 2D templates for controlling the shape of the new last. Produce technical drawing and prepare technical specification sheets for manufacturing. Grade the last. Export the files of the virtual model to 3D printers, CAM or CNC systems.
digital
use CAD for soles
Digitise and scan the lasts. Work with files in various CAD systems. Produce 3D models of soles and create 2D computer aided designs. Grade and obtain the size series. Prepare technical specifications for manufacturing. Produce 2D and 3D computer aided engineering designs and technical drawings of moulds for vulcanised and injected soles. Export the files of the virtual models to 3D printers, CAM or CNC systems.
digital
Cross-sector
1 competencecreate solutions to problems
Solve problems which arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.