Is Kanye West a Good DESIGNER? Yeezy Design Analysis

This video was made prior to the recent antisemetic statements made by Kayne West. We condemn these antisemetic statements as abhorrent, offensive, and unacceptable.

Is Kanye West a good designer? In this video, we analyze some of his design work for Yeezy. A lot of these shoes go against every design instinct I have...and that's exactly why I love them.

0:00 Intro
0:55 Why Yeezys are Different
3:26 Kanye Challenges Norms
4:18 The Benefits of Being an Outsider
6:00 Transcending Categories
7:00 Kanye Hires The Best People
7:37 Musical Influence on Design
8:55 Foam Runners Design Analysis
13:36 Should Kanye Be Taken Seriously?
14:15 The Key to Kanye's Success in Design

All content written by John Mauriello. John Mauriello has been working professionally as an industrial designer since 2010. He is an Adjunct Professor of industrial design at California College of the Arts.

Some of the footage is from the following youtube channels:

Yeezy is Kanye West's design brand with Adidas. Industrial designers, shoe designers, and footwear designers design shoes for Ye. Yeezy 350 v2, Yeezy 700, and Yeezy Foam Runner Foamrunner are all shoes that Kanye West has designed. Kanye West "Ye" is a famous musician, but does that translate to good design? Steven Smith worked as a designer for Reebok, Nike, and New Balance.

[kuya]

at almost every point in time in this mans career whether it be music, fashion, footwear, he was always seen as polarizing yet later on you look back and come to appreciate what he's done either way. it shows in his music and his interviews significantly as well. also i feel like i've heard so many ppl have to add the disclaimer that they don't agree with everything he says but...

[showmevids]

Biggest take from this video: people will find a way to rationalise anything if it’s made by the right person

[OutOfNamesToChoose]

To my eye, the 350s seem like the sweet spot between creative and 'socially acceptable' shoes to wear. I'd love the foamrunners if they wouldn't catch so much attention; I have flat feet and really value comfort.

Regardless, I think the best work is still to come from shoe/clothing designers who will be inspired by Ye's creative freedom and make things in the midpoint that can be worn en mass.

[TheWutangclan]

The design of Yeezy's shoes are starting to become a timeless silhouette. I haven't seen a shoe that's not Nike or Jordan rivaling the Jordan 1. Almost everywhere I go, or whenever I'm on social media there will be people wearing 350s, 700s, or foam runners.

[CaliKiid]

Props to Adidas for letting Kanye and his design team basically do whatever they want lol. The range of shoes they have designed is insane if you look at it. The evolution of the casual knit shoe (350 V1/V2, 450), Basketball (YZY QNTM), retro (700 V1/V2), and now futuristic minimalistic (Foam Runner).

[JonathanStephenHarris]

Isn't this just the croc shoe made cooler? I don't think he invented the crock shoe??!!

[Lurkartiist]

I think he's a good designer but like all designers he creates bricks too sometimes . it happens .

the problem is when people act like he can't miss, even though that's just not the case.

[dickolatemccabe]

kanye is not the designer for his shoes, let alone all of yeezy. He is creative director, with some influence on design, and also has the ability to stop a product and ask it to be reworked. I think his designers on the yeezy and adidas team need more credit

[dinkaboutit]

Kanye West's one and only talent is believing that the last thing that crossed his mind was a work of genius. Not just telling himself, BELIEVING it. It's a powerful skill. If you allow it to be.

[eedacunha]

I’ve used the foam rnnr’s, since i saw them i liked it, for the looks, for the design and material, they are are highly confortable to walk for prolonged time (5 hours non stop), their support on the heel area because of the geometry that it has it works as an literal shock absorber and also the entire sole wears less than a normal sneaker, like it distributes your weight on the aditional surface area to lessen the total load. Engineering wise this shoe is one of the best proposals of a durable, economic and ecofriendly shoe on the market, i suggest you to give it a try and sees for yourself.

[narheanrg]

The foam runners were crazy for me cos when I first saw them I hated them. However, slowly they began to grow on me and the outlandish design combined with the fact that most people around me didn't like them made me appreciate them so much that I ended copping a pair to wear myself. 0 regrets as they are so extremely comfortable and I don't even wear slides anymore. They are also really nice in person imo and I think ppl are stuck in the "normal stuff" box that they don't agree with anything outside of that box. Luv Kanye and most of his designs just wish some of his sneakers were more polychromatic. Great video btw

[Onyeubanatu]

Now this!!! I loved everything about it and as a creative, this was very inspiring. Greetings from the creative and design community in Nigeria!

[vinnyseed]

This was a really nice analysis, I think you hit the nail on the head with why Yeezy design works (and why maybe it sometimes doesn't). It's simultaneously engaging and disconcerting just like Kanye himself. Yeezy is anti fashion, it's challenging and awkward but yet functional and stylish. It's almost indescribable but you did a really good job, I really enjoyed the tie to prehistoric creatures and I totally see the connection.

[ghostface_d]

People don't care about design. They care about whether or not the rest of the people in their social groups will think they're cool for wearing it. It's like needing to have the best iPhone even when you know nothing about tech and can't list a single difference between the phone you want and what's in your pocket. At the end of the day, these shoes range from literally unwearably strange to looking like a basic shoe. But the only thing that matters it's if they're expensive/exclusive enough to seem cool for just having it, or if it's endorsed/created by someone cool. It's best to not try and digest these kinds of things since even if Kanye himself came out and went "I was just fucking with y'all to see if y'all would buy it (and he's done similar things before)" the fans would still find a way to call it genius. Everything is what you make of it

[lalainamimi]

I'm a fashion designer too and I can say Kanyes designs are not chaotic at all. Within his specific vision the shapes, lines, materials and proportions are totally on point.
His Yeezy slides are the best designs on the market for several reasons.
If you don't like his taste it's another thing.
But he's a visionary designer and stylist. No denial.

As many other designers he is not that good in styling himself though 😅

[CaptPicard]

I like that him and his team take big swings, but a lot of these don't land for me personally. But I think these designs will influence something extraordinary down the line

[WAdams-psst]

Mate, whats the point of creativity if the shoe is still ugly?

[notmyrealaccount]

I’ve always preferred design that comes from the more artistic creators who tend to have near free reign over the brief such as Peter Saville. You could argue he is more artist than a designer but that’s when I think the most interesting work gets done. It’s probably their narcissism and often mental health issues that makes them more likely to break rules and be outsiders, often working alone out of necessity rather than anything else. The difference with Ye is that he had almost infinite fame and resources before his career as a designer began which Saville did not. Sometimes the struggle of being an unknown creates opportunities and ideas that can’t come from someone within the industry but someone who has the ability to do whatever they want can make something amazing and while I wouldn’t wear them they are definitely interesting creations.

[walkinmn]

As a biologist I don't think you have to go as far as the Cambrian era to see the inspiration, when you showed the different shoes he has made, it reminded me immediately a lot to sea slugs (which is just a common name for a few types of invertebrates) and other types of marine invertebrates and even some fishes. In general I agree with your take, Kanye's designs are very on point with his artistic persona, very bold, agressive and sometimes primal, but somehow it works. I can see the well thought design on them but having said that I just don't like his shoes, I wouldn't wear even the most "normal" of them, their shape is not something that I find pleasant to wear and be part of my look, add to that, that as a human being I don't like him or respect him, and then the ide of giving him money is not something that I would do ever again.

[wolffang]

I find it interesting that to me the foam runners look better worn than in those lightbox glamour shots. It's like they're telling me themselves that they're fashion, not gallery art.