Shoe Design Basics

Footwear Design and Development Certificate

Take just one of the footwear courses or earn a certificate. The 13-week professional certificate is comprised of 3 courses that provide students with a comprehensive overview of the footwear industry while developing the necessary skills that lead to successful product design. Industry partners and instructors with extensive experience in design, materials, and footwear production will provide key elements from concept through marketing in creating functional and fashionable shoes for contemporary consumers.

This Course: FASH910: Shoe Design Basics

Beginning with basic design processes, students will focus on developing a solid foundation of shoe design ability. History, vocabulary, biomechanics, sketching, brief creation, materials selection, pattern-making techniques, and construction systems will lead to the creation of digital collections, which will be critiqued by footwear industry professionals. Presentation and storytelling skills will be introduced. Students must have a basic understanding of design processes using the elements and principles and a sound understanding of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

For any questions about course content, please contact the course instructor, Mike Friton -- mike.friton@gmail.com.

This section of FASH910: Shoe Design Basics runs 10/20-11/23 in the Fall 2026 term. Students may enroll in the course up until 10/26. For any questions about enrollment or Lasell Professional Studies, please contact profstudies@lasell.edu.

About the Instructor: Mike Friton

After leaving Nike in 2009, Friton founded his own company, Friton Design. Friton Design is a creative incubator for innovative footwear design and product development. The mission is to leverage a passion for creativity in athletic shoe design to a broader spectrum of product development. Friton explores universal design principles and applies them innovatively to create radically different and uniquely functional new products.

Friton's extensive knowledge and hands-on expertise with high-quality demand products has been successfully applied to various goods and industries worldwide. In addition to his superior functionality expertise, he has experience in all facets of product design, product development, prototype making, pattern engineering and grading, CAD modeling, tech packs, small-scale local production, factory sourcing, and material sourcing.

Friton graduated from the University of Oregon with an anthropology degree. As a student at Oregon, he was a competitive runner and collaborated with the Co-Founder of Nike, Mr. Bill Bowerman, for 18 years.