Written by Alumni & Friends
Curtin Design graduate and Design Lecturer Lee Ingram’s passion for sneakers allowed him to secure a job at worldwide sneaker brand, ASICS.
In celebration of World Sneaker Day, Lee shares how his world-leading sneaker collection landed him a job at one of the world’s top-tier sneaker stores.
𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?
A: I think the size and scope of it. Currently, the collection sits at around 1,200 pairs and includes about 12 separate brands, with ASICS being around a third of the collection.
𝐐: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒?
A: My work with ASICS came about through my love of the brand. After many years of engaging with them on social, I posted a photo of myself in a throne made from ASICS sneakers, which caught their attention. Little did I know this post would lead me to Amsterdam to design a poster to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of ASICS signature sneaker, the Gel-Lyte III (see image below).
𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧?
A: Having taught Design at Curtin for the past 26 years, I can confidently state that learning how to learn is the most valuable tool anyone can develop. An internal motivation to continually question everything and push the boundaries to see what is capable is so important.
𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬?
A: That is my advice – make a living out of your passion. Wherever your interests lie, an understanding of creative strategy and design process can help you to carve out a future in that area.
Written by Alumni & Friends
