Shiftwear Shoes-realistic or...?

Shift wear aims to bring the future early with their customizable, HD eInk-powered shoes. The shoes promise to (eventually) let you display animations and colour images on the sides of your sneakers, all controlled through a mobile or desktop application. New York-based Shiftwear has already raised 128,560 USD, surpassing their 25,000 USD goal.

Hurdles remain, however. 2 million USD is necessary to produce the concept shoe shown in the promotional videos, as 25,000 is just to fund a prototype. If produced, Shiftwear promises that their shoes will be self-powered, 100% waterproof, have Kevlar fibre soles, and come in 3 different styles. If all goes well, they will be available by mid-2016.

The concept is definitely interesting enough to capture interest. The idea of change is fascinating to us as human beings.

The materiality is well chosen in a way that it allows for a good manipulation of weather at the same time as providing a good display area for the artwork.

The fact that they are self-powered by stepping is what I found most inventive about them. Since they are shoes, people are bound to walk in them at some point. And, if they should ever run low on energy, it would create a good incentive for one to stand up and do some exercise.

The design, however, is somewhat short of inspiration. I would not see a great market for these, considering the ever competitive shoe fashion industry from today's world.

True, where it lacks in design it gains in technology. But I am sure that, using the same concept behind creating the shoes, one could further elaborate the idea and use it in a different kind of design and environment (such as building smart kinetic facades).