Good Morning POU!
Today’s featured designer is Jonathan Johnson-Griffin.
Originally from Louisville, KY, Jonathan is a Senior Footwear Designer for Nike.
He’s had the pleasure of designing for top-notch athletes such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. He thoroughly enjoys expressing his creativity every single day…his love for sneakers began in first grade. The Air Jordan III’s were his first “real” pair of kicks.
Jonathan draws inspiration from anything and everything – especially when he’s out traveling. For example, he recently visited and was inspired by the Louvre Museum in Paris. Jonathan saw a picture of Kevin Durant celebrating his birthday with his mother and aunt and came up with the concept for the Nike KD 6 NSW Lifestyle “Birthday”. The sneaker takes inspiration from KD wearing a polka dot shirt. The designer also wanted it to showcase Durant’s playful and approachable side.
On February 23rd, 2013, at the Big Brothers Big Sisters midtown headquarters in Atlanta, Jonathan gave a chat to the kids on what inspired the 2013 Nike Black History Month footwear and apparel collection that he designed. He also talked about his journey as an African American designer.
These days, the designers are becoming as popular as the athletes whose shoes they create. At the launch for the Lebron X “Cork”, Jonathan was on hand to sign autographs for sneaker lovers as they formed a long line snaking the block to get his signature. While there he talked about the genesis of the unique cork design…
We were talking to Lebron and he was saying that he kind of wanted to give it that champagne bang feeling. And it’s based all around the idea of popping bottles… When you hear that champagne bang of the cork popping, you know you won a championship.
Video: Jonathan discusses his inspiration and designs for the Black History Month Collection with Artist Fuse Green