Japan – Nike Japan has released Create with Air Max, an augmented reality (AR) zine to encourage fans to create their own sneaker designs.
The zine features black and white outlines of Air Max designs for people to colour, customise and then view in 3D via their phone. They can also share a graphic of their final design on social media or even submit it directly to Nike as part of a larger editorial campaign.
Created as a way to establish a sense of community in lieu of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the zine also features a selection of designs submitted by Japanese creatives. ‘The idea was born from the Covid-19 circumstances, which left people largely isolated and unable to come together as they had previously, but also looking for new ways to explore and express their creativity,’ explains AKQA, the agency behind the project.
With mixed-reality commerce growing in popularity, the digitisation economy is facilitating a community of creatives exploring both physical and digital projects.