In 1996 Nike retained Ashcraft to design an electronic 3D foot measurement device to replace the traditional Brannock foot measuring device designed in 1927. The objective was to explore a range of solutions that could be integrated into the Nike Retail Store brand environment. The Ashcraft design team explored a wide range of N-gage retail environments concepts from basketball stadium seating to freestanding podiums.
The project named N-gage included the design of the foot measurement device and supporting retail environment. A test in the Portland Niketown store was under taken to verify the marketing potential of the product. Ashcraft’s design was fabricated and then installed over the course of a weekend. Monday morning the 1927 Brannock device was put in storage and customers were greeted with N-gage. Nike’s first attempt to capture an accurate 3D scan of customers feet size.
Before computers did the heavy lifting the most compelling design solutions were hand rendered in pantone markers and pastels then mounted to roughly 1.5ft by 3ft boards and presented in person to Nike. Below are a few of the design solutions presented.