Is Kanye West a Good DESIGNER? Yeezy Design Analysis
Summary
TLDRThe video script discusses the polarizing design work of Kanye West, particularly his Yeezy shoe line. It explores how West's designs challenge traditional design principles with their organic, asymmetrical shapes and unconventional aesthetics. Despite initial criticism, the video argues that West's approach has had a significant cultural impact and encourages viewers to consider the creative risks he takes. The script also highlights the importance of passion and willpower in design, as well as the influence of West's music background on his collaborative design process with Steven Smith. The video concludes by suggesting that everyone can learn from West's bold creativity, regardless of their personal opinion on his designs.
Takeaways
- 🎨 **Polarizing Design**: Kanye West's designs, such as his Yeezy shoes, are intentionally polarizing, eliciting strong reactions from the public.
- 🌱 **Organic Design Ethos**: Yeezy's design philosophy steers away from clean, harmonious lines, instead embracing an organic, 'blob-like' aesthetic.
- ✍️ **Creative Control**: Kanye and his team have full creative control over their designs, allowing them to take risks that other designers might not.
- 🌐 **Cultural Impact**: Despite争议 (controversy), Kanye's work has made a significant cultural impact, influencing the design and music industries.
- 🔍 **Design Dismissal**: It's easy to dismiss Yeezy designs as ugly or weird, but such a simplistic view overlooks the complexity of the creative process behind them.
- 👟 **Market Positioning**: Yeezy shoes target a niche market, aiming to sell 40,000 pairs per drop rather than millions like larger brands.
- 🏞️ **Nature-Inspired**: Kanye's designs are sometimes inspired by nature and prehistoric creatures, contributing to their unique and alien-like appearance.
- 👨🎤 **Outsider Advantage**: As an outsider to the design world, Kanye brings a fresh perspective that challenges traditional design conventions.
- 🤝 **Collaborative Process**: Kanye's design process involves a lot of collaboration, similar to how he collaborates in music, building on each other's ideas.
- 🌟 **Design and Functionality**: Yeezy shoes are not just about aesthetics; they also consider functionality, comfort, and potentially eco-friendly materials.
- 🚀 **Creative Risks**: The success of Yeezy designs lies in the willingness to take creative risks and push the boundaries of conventional design.
Q & A
What is the general consensus on Kanye West's design work?
-Kanye West's design work is polarizing, eliciting strong reactions from people. Some find his designs to be a joke, while others appreciate the raw and honest creative expression.
How does Kanye West's design philosophy differ from traditional design principles?
-Kanye West's design philosophy often goes against traditional design principles, such as creating precise, clean, and harmonious lines. Instead, he embraces organic, blobby designs that can appear chaotic and unstructured.
What is the typical sales goal for a Yeezy shoe drop?
-The typical sales goal for a Yeezy shoe drop is around 40,000 pairs, which is significantly less than the hundreds of millions of pairs sold by other major footwear brands.
How does Kanye West's team approach design risks?
-Kanye West's team takes massive risks in design that most designers would only dream of, often questioning the very nature of what a shoe can be, thanks to the full creative control they have with their partnership with Adidas.
What aesthetic does the speaker compare Yeezy's design to?
-The speaker compares Yeezy's design to prehistoric creatures from the Cambrian era, noting that the designs look both ancient and futuristic, with an almost alien quality.
How does Kanye West's approach to design challenge the traditional design process?
-Kanye West's approach to design challenges the traditional process by disregarding the need for endless revision cycles and approval processes. His team is able to take risks and create designs that are raw and unapologetic, often defying conventional design guidelines.
What is the significance of Kanye West being an outsider to the design world?
-Kanye West being an outsider to the design world allows him to bring a fresh perspective and innovative ideas to the industry without being constrained by traditional design norms and conventions.
How did Kanye West's Yeezy fashion line evolve over time?
-Kanye West's Yeezy fashion line was initially ridiculed by fashion critics, but it gradually improved each year. By the time his Season 6 line was released, the fashion industry was genuinely excited to see his work.
What is the role of Steven Smith in the Yeezy design team?
-Steven Smith is the head designer of Yeezy since 2016. His role is to help realize Kanye's creative vision, and he is known for his impressive resume and bold design choices.
How does Kanye West's musical background influence his design process?
-Kanye West's musical background influences his design process through collaboration and a lively energy. He and Steven Smith constantly exchange sketches and build upon each other's ideas, similar to how musicians jam and build upon each other's musical ideas.
What are some functional aspects of the Yeezy Foam Runner shoe?
-The Yeezy Foam Runner is made from a single material, which makes it breathable, requires minimal assembly, and is cost-effective to produce. The shoe is designed to be easy to put on and take off, and the algae-based foam material is potentially more eco-friendly.
Outlines
🎨 Kanye West's Design Philosophy and Impact
The video discusses the controversial nature of Kanye West's design work, particularly his Yeezy shoe line. Initially seen as a joke, the shoes have garnered a strong reaction from the public, which is attributed to their polarizing design. Kanye's designs are noted for their departure from conventional design principles, focusing on organic and asymmetrical shapes rather than clean, harmonious lines. The video praises Kanye's creativity and his ability to take risks that most designers wouldn't dare to, emphasizing his significant cultural impact and the raw, honest expression found in his work.
👟 The Evolution and Reception of Yeezy Fashion Line
The second paragraph delves into the evolution of Kanye's Yeezy fashion line, which started with ridicule from fashion critics but gradually gained acceptance and anticipation. Kanye's decision to showcase his Season 6 line on Instagram, leveraging Kim Kardashian's audience, is highlighted as a masterful marketing move. The paragraph also touches on Kanye's disregard for traditional design conventions and his tendency to create products that transcend categories. The video mentions Steven Smith, Kanye's head designer, and their collaborative process, which is likened to a musical jam session, resulting in designs with an organic, free-flowing nature.
🌿 The Functional and Aesthetic Aspects of Yeezy's Foam Runner
This paragraph focuses on the design and functionality of the Yeezy Foam Runner, made from an algae-based foam material. It discusses the shoe's eco-friendliness, cost-effectiveness due to minimal assembly, and the comfort it provides. The design's inspiration from a surfer's perspective and its connection to sea creatures and oceanic patterns are explored. The aesthetic choices, such as the non-harmonious hole patterns and the rounded toe silhouette, are analyzed, and the context of how the shoes are worn and perceived is considered. The paragraph concludes by acknowledging the shoe's success in grabbing attention and sparking conversations around design.
🚀 Kanye's Creative Risks and the Future of Yeezy Design
The final paragraph reflects on Kanye's success as a designer, emphasizing his heart, passion, and willpower to realize his creative vision. It acknowledges the criticism that Kanye has received for stealing designs but argues that his influence on the design community is positive. The video encourages viewers to take note of the creative risks taken by Kanye and his team and to consider incorporating such risks into their own lives. It concludes with a call to action for viewers to subscribe and support the channel on Patreon for better content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Controversial Figure
💡Polarizing Design
💡Creative Risk
💡Yeezy Design Ethos
💡Cultural Impact
💡Organic Design
💡Outsider Perspective
💡Collaboration in Design
💡Eco-Friendly Materials
💡Aesthetics in Design
💡Functional Aspects
Highlights
Kanye West's designs are polarizing, eliciting strong reactions from the audience.
His design work and music are considered some of the most honest and raw creative expressions.
Kanye's designs challenge conventional design principles, often ignoring precise and harmonious lines.
Yeezy's design ethos focuses on limited sales rather than mass-market appeal.
Kanye and his team have full creative control, allowing for risk-taking that most designers only dream of.
Yeezy designs are compared to organic, almost living creatures, with shapes that don't relate to each other in an obvious way.
Kanye's design team is not influenced by mainstream sources like Pinterest, offering a unique perspective.
Kanye's outsider status in the design world allows him to bring a fresh and unapologetic approach to creativity.
Yeezy's fashion line was initially ridiculed but gradually gained acceptance and anticipation in the fashion industry.
Kanye's use of social media for showcasing his fashion line was a masterful campaign that defied traditional runway presentations.
Yeezy 350s are a blend of categories, transcending the conventional subcategories of footwear design.
Kanye's disregard for design rules brings a fresh take to the industry and contributes to his success.
Steven Smith, a key collaborator with Kanye, brings a history of bold and innovative designs to the table.
Kanye's musical background influences his design process, with a focus on collaboration and a lively energy.
Yeezy shoes have an organic, free-flowing nature, symbolizing freedom from constraints and preconceived notions.
The Foam Runner's design, inspired by a surfer, features a unique asymmetrical fluidity and is made from an eco-friendly material.
Yeezy's rounded toe design breaks away from a long-standing fashion trend and prioritizes comfort.
The visual complexity of Yeezy's Foam Runner is intentional, designed to be a statement piece that grabs attention.
Kanye's success as a designer is attributed to his heart, passion, and willpower to realize his creative vision.
The video encourages viewers to take note of the creative risks taken by Kanye and his team and consider applying them in their own lives.
Transcripts
this video is sponsored by squarespace
is kanye west a good designer when i
first saw these shoes designed by him i
thought they were a joke they go against
every design instinct i have and they go
against everything i've been taught
about design and that's exactly why i
love them
love him or hate him i'm confident that
almost all of you had a strong reaction
to this shoe just like i did that's
kanye's design work in a nutshell
polarizing the reason why we have those
feelings about something as ordinary as
a shoe is a lot more complicated which
is what we'll talk about in this video
by analyzing one of the most influential
creative powerhouses of our time you'll
learn more about your own instincts
around creativity and design big shout
out to these people in my discord for
giving me feedback on this video one
thing i can say with certainty is that
kanye's design work and his music are
some of the most honest and raw creative
expressions i've ever seen or heard
kanye is obviously a very controversial
figure i don't agree with a lot of the
things he says but when it comes to
creativity he knows what he's talking
about you don't have to like kanye's
music or his design but you do have to
accept that he has made a major cultural
impact i think it's easy to dismiss
these designs as ugly or weird but to me
that's just too simplistic i mean
yeezy's design ethos is not about making
mass-market shoes to be sold in walmart
that are appealing to everyone they only
need to sell about 40 000 shoes during
every drop rather than hundreds of
millions of pairs like other big
footwear brands kanye and his team also
have full creative control which was a
condition of his partnership with adidas
with that in mind they don't really
operate under the same rules of most
other companies designing products these
days most product designs need to go
through endless revision cycles and
approval processes from people who are
very very scared to take any kind of
creative risk with kanye in control the
design team is able to take massive
risks that most designers would only
dream of in a lot of cases they're
questioning what a shoe can even be
the thing that really sets these designs
apart is that most designers are
obsessed with precise clean harmonious
lines and kanye completely ignores all
of that now organic blobby design isn't
anything new but i haven't found many
designs quite like yeezy i mean sure
you've got art nouveau from the early
1900s but art nouveau takes inspiration
from nature in a more literal way they
use actual leaf and vine patterns rather
than sort of abstracting them then
you've got the objects from the late 90s
and early 2000s but usually the
proportions on these have a logic to
them they're sort of a hierarchy you
know what to look at first second and
third with a lot of yeezys the shapes
don't seem to relate to each other in
any obvious way which is what makes them
feel almost like living creatures the
only design that i can think of that has
a somewhat similar aesthetic is the 1992
gea focus and this mustang mach3 concept
car but really none of these designs are
quite like easy now generally speaking a
lack of direction and harmony and design
is considered a bad thing the designer
should carefully lead the viewer's eye
through the object so the user can see
key touch points or make sense of what
it is that they're looking at just as a
very obvious example if you're designing
a camera the record button should be
placed in a spot that's easy to access
and it should probably be red because
red stands out and that's an important
button on the camera most of the time
there's a good reason for following
these guidelines of design it helps the
people who use our products understand
them better it helps people feel
comfortable with them but kanye and his
team have blatantly gone against that
notion time and time again your brain
just can't make sense of all these
chaotic patterns and chunky proportions
if you hate yeezys that's probably the
reason why the designs are super raw
almost primordial even in fact the
closest thing i could find that relates
to yeezy's work is not even man-made a
lot of yeezys look to be inspired by
prehistoric creatures from the cambrian
era which was one of the largest
explosions of new life forms in history
i have no idea if this is what the easy
design team was looking at but it's
interesting that the creative explosion
of weird yeezy forms looks very similar
to the explosion of life forms from the
cambrian era it's like the designs look
both ancient but also futuristic kind of
alien almost one thing i can say for
sure is that kanye's design team isn't
looking at pinterest and thank god for
that by the way you should subscribe got
nothing to lose another key to the
success of yeezy shoes is the fact that
kanye is an outsider to the design world
i don't think kanye even wants to belong
you can see that in his design work but
he's even said it himself he said in an
interview i don't have some type of
romantic relationship with the public
i'm like the anti-celebrity and my music
comes from a place of being anti he's
also said i may not always say the
perfect thing but i'm gonna say how i
feel i like some of the gaga songs what
the does she know about cameras i
think these two quotes could easily
apply to his design work there are a lot
of things that kanye has said that i
disagree with but i do respect the way
that he unapologetically explores
creativity in ways that most
traditionally trained designers would
never ever even dream of
kanye's taken this outsider approach to
an extreme when he first launched his
yeezy fashion line it was mercilessly
ridiculed by fashion critics and as time
went on his collection slowly got a
little bit better and better each year
and by the time his season 6 line rolled
around the fashion industry was
genuinely excited to see what he was
going to make next but he wasn't
responding to multiple invites to
display his work at fashion runway shows
people were wondering if he was even
gonna launch a new line that year
finally he did showcase his fashion line
but it wasn't on a runway it was on
kanye shared his fashion line through
kim kardashian's social media at the
time kim kardashian had over 12
of instagram's total audience following
her it garnered millions of views and it
was an absolutely masterful campaign
more importantly it sent a message this
was kanye's way of saying i don't need
you and i'm not one of you in one
interview kanye goes off about how we're
all confined to these boxes both
literally and figuratively a lot of his
designs sort of transcend categories
like these yeezy 350s are they a running
shoe a lifestyle shoe a trainer i mean
kind of all of the above and none of the
above most other footwear designers know
about well-established subcategories and
conventions within shoe design just
changing the silhouette slightly is a
really big deal for them but kanye just
doesn't seem to care about these
conventions he just does what he thinks
is cool kanye's disregard for the rules
quote unquote is a powerful thing this
might annoy design purists but he brings
a fresh take to the industry which i
think is a major reason for his success
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the video kanye is known for being
arrogant but when it comes to hiring
people he puts his ego aside and only
hires the best one of kanye's best hires
was steven smith steven has been head
designer easy since 2016 and it's his
job to help realize kanye's creative
vision steven smith has a pretty
impressive resume and he's known for
coming out with some pretty crazy and
bold designs of his own
it's impossible to talk about kanye's
design work without talking about his
music a big part of music is about
collaboration what's especially
interesting is the way that steven and
kanye work with each other they're
constantly sending sketches back and
forth to each other they just feed off
each other and keep building on top of
each other's ideas steven describes a
constant overflowing of concepts all
coming out at once when he said this it
made me think of when i play music with
my friends and it makes sense because of
kanye's music background when you're
jamming with somebody you feed off that
energy one person throws out a musical
idea and then another person builds on
it i felt this on design teams sometimes
but it's far more common in music i
think this is one way that kanye's
musical career has informed his design
process and ultimately the designs that
he creates the collaboration and that
lively energy comes across in the shoes
and the way that they're designed steven
smith describes a certain explosiveness
and movement in the creative process and
i think that shows through in the actual
final designs as well i've looked at
every single easy shoe and with maybe
one or two exceptions there's this
organic free-flowing nature to all of
them it's all about freeing yourself
from constraints freeing yourself from
these boxes and preconceived notions of
what design should look like or what it
should be and it's just this free raw
expression of ideas like i said before
though a lot of these products go
against my instincts as a designer i
find them borderline repulsive sometimes
but they also fascinate me it's like a
car crash that you can't look away from
for example the phone runners now the
more open side of me is intrigued maybe
it was the designer's intent to make it
feel kind of off-putting and maybe these
organic natural shapes are not
harmonious on purpose maybe it wouldn't
have made sense for the use case my
point is that it's easy to be dismissive
but it's better to take the time to
really understand where someone is
coming from first of all it helps know a
little bit about the designer apparently
the guy who helped with the design for
these is a surfer i've been surfing my
whole life so i can definitely see the
inspiration from sea creatures or maybe
the little gurgling eddies and
backwashes and whirlpools that you'll
see while out in the ocean there's a
certain asymmetrical fluidity to the
design that's related to that let's talk
about the functional aspects too i mean
the shoe is very breathable it's all one
material and all made from one piece
which requires minimal assembly and it's
incredibly cheap to make a lot of shoes
can become expensive if there are many
parts and there's a lot of assembly
required the foam runner is also easy
for the user to take off and put back on
supposedly they're extremely comfortable
the algae-based foam material is also
potentially more eco-friendly than other
shoes and the fact that it's all made
from one material would make it easier
to disassemble or recycle now you might
be thinking hey john there's a thing
called sandals that have existed for
thousands of years and they do pretty
much the same thing and you're not wrong
about that but the way this hugs the
foot in such a comfortable way is an
interesting evolution of that idea
they're kind of like crocs but they use
even fewer components and it seems like
they fit the foot a lot better let's go
deeper into the aesthetics and we'll
start with the silhouette it's super
rounded in the front now most modern
shoes are way too pointy in the toe area
this has roots as early as the 12th
century where the aristocracy wore
uncomfortable shoes as a way to show
everybody that they didn't need healthy
feet in order to do manual labor wearing
shoes that are intentionally
uncomfortable and fashionable goes back
to at least the 10th century in han
china and it's still in effect today in
various forms throughout different
cultures even modern athletic shoes have
pointed toes and this makes no sense
from an ergonomics perspective if you
look at your foot you'll notice that its
widest point is just behind the toes now
yeezys are definitely not the only shoe
to have more rounded toes by any stretch
i'm not saying that but they are one
brand that does it very very
consistently this subtle change in
silhouette already makes a huge
difference in setting them apart from
other sneaker designs this is not only
breaking away from a 1 000 year old
fashion trend but the new yeezys are
generally pretty comfortable in fact the
new yeezy 350s are among the most
comfortable shoes you can buy if we look
at the holes of the foam runner you'll
notice that they don't really harmonize
with each other which is why they look
so weird what's interesting is that if
you start from the heel of the shoe
these lines feel kind of related to each
other but then as you move forward
there's less and less harmony among the
shapes these details look like they were
taken from several different designs
almost and then patched onto one shoe
normally when you design something you
want to have a first read a second read
and then a third read basically what do
you look at first second and third but
with these foam runners it's not super
obvious what those first second and
third reads are a lot of these lines and
holes are kind of clashing with each
other because they're different shapes
and sizes and they're in different
patterns and configurations and it's
like your eyes can't really find a
resting point and this is visually
unsettling but when you're judging a
design's aesthetics it's important to
consider the context so maybe there's a
reason why the phone runners look like
this first of all these shoes look a lot
more busy if you examine them from eye
level but they actually look a lot more
cohesive when you're looking down at
them and that makes sense because that's
how people will be looking at them while
you're wearing them and it's also
important to consider the context of how
they will be worn i mean if they're
styled with the right outfit they
actually kind of work i mean because the
shoes catch so much attention pairing it
with more understated outfits and
neutral tones seems to look okay the
bottom line is that this shoe is a
statement piece so while the crazy
excessive detail is a little unsettling
it does grab your attention and this
shoe is pretty much impossible to ignore
if you look at it through the lens of
grabbing attention this shoe is very
successful this is a larger trend that i
see happening throughout design where
companies are resorting to crazy designs
to grab attention i even made a video
about it once again these crazy
proportions are a theme that you see in
a lot of the easy line it's what makes
them feel more like a weird creature
than a static object whether it's the
stem player looking like a sea urchin
fossil the 450 is looking like a shoe
that's being eaten by a slime blob or
the 700 v3s which look like a skeleton
that's caging a shoe in they all kind of
have that underlying radical lifelike
theme now you you've probably been
thinking throughout this video that i
wouldn't be taking these designs nearly
as seriously if anyone other than kanye
designed them and and you're probably
right the success of yeezy has a lot to
do with kanye and his fame but at least
he's using that fame to spark new
conversations around design rather than
just taking ordinary products and
slapping his name on them like you see
with so many other celebrity brands it's
important to mention that kanye is also
stolen designs from other people and
claim them as his own on social media
obviously i don't agree with this but i
still think that his involvement with
the design community is a net positive
even if it's just to bring ideas around
design to a wider audience so what is
the key to kanye's success as a designer
kanye might not have the technical
skills or the training but i think what
he does have is a lot more important
kanye has heart and passion for his
craft and he has the willpower to see
his creative vision through i can't
think of many designers who would have
the courage to even sketch something
like this never mind actually produce it
and show it to the world especially in
the high profile way that kanye has to
do it i'm not sure where kanye's
creative limits are but it's very clear
that he hasn't reached his ceiling yet
and there are no signs of him slowing
down whether you love or hate yeezy's
design everyone should take notes on the
creative risks that kanye and his team
are willing to take and see if there's a
place for that kind of creative risk in
your own life thanks for watching
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