5 Things You Need to Know about Footwear Designing

Do you ever think of designs of the footwear you wear? Or have you ever fallen in love with the design of a footwear and without any plan you end up buying it? Have you ever thought about who is behind these Footwear Designing? Yes! You are correct! A Footwear Designer is the one behind the designs of all the footwear you wear. 

The most offbeat career of underrated careers is Footwear Designing. There are many students who wish to pursue their career in designing, but they think they have only few options in designing. But it is high time to think of offbeat career options like footwear design.

This is because footwear is a major part of the designing industry, according to reports, the footwear industry will grow at a CAGR of 8.28% between 2020-2025. Also, it is expected that the footwear industry will generate 3 lakh jobs in the next 3 years.

In this article you will get to know about the offbeat career – Footwear Designing. Before choosing the field of footwear designer, you should have appropriate knowledge for the same. So, if you are further interested in pursuing a career in footwear designing, keep on reading this article.

1.What is Footwear Designing? What is it all about?

Footwear design, as the same suggests, involves the process of designing the footwear- may it be shoes, slippers, heels, sandals, boots, etc. The main work in footwear designing is to create and develop innovative designs for any kind of footwear.

Basically, we can say that in footwear designer, a candidate is responsible for – making sketches of footwear design or using software’s for designing, deciding upon the type of color & fabric to be used.

Also, they are responsible for implementation of the manufacturing plan of the footwear or footwears. All in all, a footwear designer is the overall in charge of a Footwear, of its designs, fabrics and more.

Designing footwear is not an easy task, a footwear designer has to take all the design parameters and paradigms to design a footwear. Footwear designers are also responsible for the comfort of footwear.

Also, it is important for a footwear designer to keep on researching new patterns, designs and even fashion trends and needs of the customer to capture the target audience. A footwear designer has to be creative, innovative and curious about new things or designs in the footwear industry.

2. What Types of Courses are Available for Pursuing Footwear Designing?

There are many options available for those who want to pursue their career in footwear designing. There are various number of courses available. So, let’s start: –

Certificate Courses

There are various institutions or colleges or universities which offer Certificate courses.

Eligibility– the basic eligibility requirement is to

passing 12th standard.

Duration of Certificate Courses– it ranges from 3 months to 1 year, depending upon the institution or university.

Some of the courses are: – 

1. Basic course in Footwear designing
2. Advanced Course in Footwear Designing
3. Certificate Course in Footwear Design and Product Development
4. Certificate Course in Footwear Manufacturing Technology

Diploma Courses

There are various diploma courses available in footwear designing. There are courses for designing and manufacturing of footwear.

Eligibility- a candidate should have passed his or her class 10th & class 12th from a recognized board.

Duration of Diploma Courses- it ranges from 12 months to 3 years, depending upon the institution or university.

Some of the courses are: –

1. Diploma in Footwear Manufacture and Design
2. Diploma In Footwear Technology
3. Diploma in Footwear Production
4. Diploma in Leather Goods & Footwear Technology
5. Post Graduate Diploma in Footwear Technology
6. Post Diploma in Footwear Technology

Bachelor’s Degree Courses

There are various bachelor degree courses available for pursuing a career in footwear design.

Eligibility – the basic eligibility is a candidate should have to pass his or her class 12th standard with minimum percentage of 50. However, eligibility criteria vary from institution to institution.

Duration of Bachelor’s Degree Courses- bachelor’s degree courses duration ranges from 3 years to 4 years.

Some of the courses are: –

1. BSc Accessory Design, Jewelry and Footwears
2. BSc Footwear Technology
3. Des Footwear Design and Production
4. Tech in Footwear Technology

Post-Graduation Degree Courses

Post-graduation courses are also available in footwear designing. Post-graduation courses can make an individual expert in their field.

Eligibility – a candidate has to graduate within the similar field to get admission in post-graduation courses.

Duration of Post-Graduation Courses – duration of post-graduation courses is of 2 years.

Some of the courses are: –

1. Des Footwear Design
2. Des Footwear Design and Production

3. Entrance Exams Available for Pursuing Footwear Designing

There are various universities which offer footwear design courses. But some of the entrance exam for footwear designing you can appear for are listed below: –

1. NIFT Entrance Test
2. Pearl Academy Entrance test
3. FDDI AIST
4. NID DAT
5. UCEED
6. IICD
7. CEED

4. Best Universities or Institutions to Study Footwear Designing in India

There are various institutions which offer courses in footwear design, but some of the best institutes are: –

1. Parul University, Vadodara
2. National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), multiple locations
3. Central Footwear Training Institute (CFTI), Chennai
4. Inter National Institute of Fashion and Interior Design, Hyderabad
5. Alagappa Institute of Technology, Chennai
6. BD Somani Institute of Art and Fashion Technology, Mumbai
7. Hamstech Institute of Fashion & Interior Design Hyderabad,
8. Central Footwear Training Institute, Agra
9. Government Leather Institute, Agra
10. Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI), Noida

5. Job Profiles

There are various job profiles for footwear designers. Let’s look at some of the following posts which are available for those who want to work in this field can work: –

1. Footwear Designer
2. Footwear Developer
3. Footwear Technician
4. Footwear Development Manager
5. Retail Store Manager
6. Footwear Merchandisers
7. Quality Inspector
8. Fashion Illustrator

6. Top Recruiters

There are various recruiters both locally and globally, which hire young graduates from the field of footwear design. But of the top recruiters are as follows: –

1. Adidas
2. Woodland
3. Bata
4. Converse
5. Puma
6. Crocs
7. Liberty Group
8. Skechers
9. Camper
10. Nike
11. Flex
12. Lee Cooper