Nike Air Max Day '19
Digital Kitchen ~ Design & Animation
Design & Animation
The Department of Unimaginable. A Semi-fictitious place within Nike, which has a single goal:
to experiment and invent unimaginable product innovations.
Nike Air, one of the department's most successful experiments, is defined by its relentless ambition to ‘GO BIGGER’.
Styleframes
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/865b8886-eb4b-4073-9b1d-964cf2b200ef_rw_1920.png?h=947398b438f7be611e3849b1226d1f5c)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/6de913fc-4d09-44ea-b5d0-dcb01a7d697a_rw_1920.png?h=8a5b9e8b03cac2eb2979606db87f2710)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/41e32123-bc93-4f90-a9c4-85aee503e7f9_rw_1920.png?h=1daeb1ba86f97de64eb2342c18f03304)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/2d027894-fad7-4956-95bd-63e19294e77b_rw_1920.png?h=5985fbcc67d07771edecdaac5dec7705)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/59d5044d-5c8f-4cac-8eb3-b1949b9ab253_rw_1920.png?h=6a261ab4f2962c72f612316f218c4047)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/8d4bf822-709e-4c12-8e67-a7ca794b75ba_rw_1920.png?h=cbeba867d106d4a261d6fe41a0d466e5)
Concept Development
We originally debated starting out with a fly-through of the Chicago skyline.
I worked out a sequence starting with x-particles, transitioning to simple 3D buildings & ending with a flat map.
In the end, it just took up too much time & didn't fit well with the concept.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/ee10db08-6e3b-4c1c-83a8-c241205b7655_rw_1920.png?h=de4b2504e0fe765231773bd45ce62a51)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/4a32ab3a-f16b-4950-9ed2-799b01535232_rw_1920.png?h=46b9e748e729d392891fbb4089b32acf)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/d556b406-5bc5-4a16-9bef-3842411f57f7_rw_1920.png?h=596a3cd56a94440aef3e5bf7148792e9)
Animation Tests
Ultimately, we decided upon pixel-sorting & glitch effects to help tell the story. I did quite a few rounds trying to figure out what looked the best. These are some of the tests that we liked & improved upon.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/b06a2c26-d67d-45f8-b5da-29b5014708f4_rw_1200.gif?h=e589fef430844da5731a8daac08fee89)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/d8962948-216d-40c9-8cae-665ad5979d2e_rw_1200.gif?h=09e3427433ca1f5ac77e2d98e211ed2a)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d44391bc-0dc1-4e07-ab88-f37f6229bd29/f92d079f-d567-4f85-b505-43e417f1e46a_rw_1200.gif?h=a95cf3dcc5890d7c45b4cb0b4db613dd)
CREDITS
Agency: Digital Kitchen
Client: Nike
Creative Director: Nico Gibson
Producer: Megan St. John
Editor: Mike Alfini
Design & Animation: John Fischer
Big thank you to Jason Esser, Nico Gibson, Megan St. John & the team at Digital Kitchen for bringing me on to help out with this amazing project.
All of this was done remotely & I couldn't be happier with how smoothly everything went. Great feedback, great timeline, & great people to collaborate with!
MY ROLE: I designed & animated the pixel-sorting & glitches throughout. I animated everything for 14 different versions based on rough edits. I also did all of the color correction.
Software used - AE Pixel Sorter 2 | After Effects | Illustrator | Photoshop.
Software used - AE Pixel Sorter 2 | After Effects | Illustrator | Photoshop.