John Hlavacs

Carrying out Lead Design responsibilities for Baseball Cleated Footwear. Authoring Design Direction, executing statement designs and working directly with signature athletes such as Mike Trout to develop leading Cleated technologies for the brand.

* First Portland Design employee responsible for Special Projects and pinnacle footwear concepts * Undertook Design, Development, and Project Management roles with direct communication to headquarters and Asia Manufacturing partners, along with sourcing of local prototyping resources. * Created Fit improvements, Last designs, and new platform Innovations across multiple sport categories * Designed themes and product for Running, Cleated, Outdoor, and cross-categorical initiatives * hands-on mock-ups, clay model building, Machine shop organization

* Create vision, insight, research and designs focused on Columbia light-hiking and Montrail running * Collaborate with elite athletes, conduct market/consumer studies, mentor young designers * Spearhead design-process and design-to-digital workflow improvements for the Footwear category

• An entrepreneurial venture focused on inspiration, mentorship, fitness, and fostering human potential
• Created LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS: consulting firm offering product design, illustration, digital media
• Portfolio includes footwear design, logo design / brand identity, fine art landscape photography and Steens Mountain Running Camp limited edition Illustrations & T-shirts
• Inspired and created visual identity for “Jesse’s Buddies”… community outreach in Cleveland, OH

Innovation Kitchen 2008 * Developed Next-generation AIR soles and early-stage creative vision for several programs including Local-for-Local and N7 Curation

* Created concepts and lines of running shoes utilizing a range of technologies including NIKE SHOX, MAX AIR, and spearheaded new cushioning formulations, textile designs and production efficiencies. * Updated category Best Practices and acted as Lead for technical running (Bowerman Series) * Initiated and implemented CONSIDERED Design approach to the Pegasus 2008, furthering that movement within the Running category * Collaborated with Olympic athletes, physical trainers and biomechanists to envision new technologies * Nike / GM Traction Collaboration. Assumed lead design role on Hummer H3T Concept tire design

Responsible for Creative Direction of category which included managing budget, overseeing designers and giving performance reviews. * Created lines of product to drive a singular category vision from on-field professional athletes down through kids footwear, and influenced Cross Training models * Responsible for communication of category product within Nike and externally with NFL, MLB, youth athletes, coaches and trainers. * Collaborated with signature professional athletes such as Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Jerry Rice on statement products

* Created performance Football and Baseball shoes from athlete insight, to concept sketch, to tech-pack, through production. * Traveled domestically and internationally for market research and Asia production development trips * Responsible for Nike Footwear Design Internship program which included college correspondence, portfolio reviews and acquiring talent throughout the year