What was the Alpha Project by Nike. How did it revolutionize athletic footwear design. Why was the five-dot logo significant for Nike’s innovation strategy. When did the Alpha Project launch and what were its key products.
The Genesis of Nike’s Alpha Project: Pioneering Performance Innovation
In the late 1990s, Nike embarked on an ambitious initiative to redefine athletic performance through cutting-edge product design. This endeavor, known as the Alpha Project, was launched on New Year’s Day 1999 with a clear mission: to identify and solve product performance problems in collaboration with athletes. The project’s philosophy centered on creating innovative, attainable products that would inject new energy into various sports categories.
Michael Morrow, the Alpha Project’s global creative director, explained the vision: “It was meant to be a long-term initiative to focus on the most relevant innovations in product per category. We were looking for new ‘juice’ in the brand in each category, and these needed to be products that were attainable from a price-point perspective because we were putting a lot of marketing dollars behind Alpha.”
The Iconic Five-Dot Logo: A Symbol of Innovation
Central to the Alpha Project’s identity was its distinctive logo: five simple dots. Ken Black, Nike’s Olympics creative director, was tasked with creating this emblem. The challenge lay in developing a logo that would complement, rather than compete with, Nike’s iconic Swoosh. Black and his team approached the design as more of an indicator or signal than a traditional logo.
The five dots held deeper significance, representing the five steps Nike took to ideate, create, test, and prove their products. This minimalist approach allowed the logo to stand out for those in the know while seamlessly blending into the product design for others.
Revolutionizing Athletic Footwear: Key Alpha Project Innovations
The Alpha Project quickly made its mark across various sports categories, introducing groundbreaking designs that pushed the boundaries of athletic footwear. Some of the most notable early releases include:
- Air Zoom Citizen (Running): Inspired by Michael Johnson’s track spikes, featuring visible Zoom Air cushioning in both heel and forefoot.
- Air Zoom Beyond (Tennis): Designed for Andre Agassi, incorporating visible Zoom Air and a Dri-FIT lining.
- Air Zoom GP (Basketball): Notable for its innovative ratcheted fastening system, reminiscent of snowboarding boots.
These initial offerings set the tone for the Alpha Project’s commitment to performance-driven design and athlete-centric innovation.
Expanding Horizons: The Alpha Project’s Diverse Product Range
As the Alpha Project gained momentum, it expanded its reach across various sports categories and product types. Notable releases in subsequent years included:
- Air Flightposite (1999): A revolutionary basketball shoe design
- Air Kukini (2000): An innovative running shoe
- Shox BB4 (2000): Introducing Nike’s Shox cushioning technology
- Air Presto (2000): Dubbed the “T-shirt for your foot” for its unique sizing approach
The Air Presto, designed by Tobie Hatfield (brother of legendary Nike designer Tinker Hatfield), exemplified the Alpha Project’s innovative spirit. It challenged conventional sneaker sizing by offering sizes ranging from 3XS to 3XL, mirroring t-shirt sizing.
Beyond footwear, the Alpha Project expanded into clothing, sunglasses, and other athletic gear, creating a comprehensive ecosystem of performance-driven products.
Marketing the Future: Alpha Project’s Promotional Strategies
Nike’s commitment to the Alpha Project extended beyond product design to include significant marketing efforts. The company invested heavily in promoting these innovations, recognizing the need to educate consumers about the advanced technologies and design philosophies behind the products.
One notable marketing campaign featured a series of high-energy advertisements directed by Michael Bay, known for his work on blockbuster films like “Bad Boys” and “Armageddon.” These ads starred Seattle Supersonics’ Gary Payton alongside comic actor Harland Williams, blending star power with humor to capture audience attention.
The marketing strategy aimed to position Alpha Project products as the pinnacle of athletic performance gear, accessible to consumers while representing the cutting edge of Nike’s innovation.
Design Philosophy: Balancing Innovation and Aesthetic Appeal
The Alpha Project’s success hinged on its ability to seamlessly integrate advanced technologies with appealing aesthetics. This balance was crucial in ensuring that the products not only performed exceptionally but also resonated with consumers on a visual and emotional level.
Michael Morrow’s role as the creator of the Alpha brand’s visual DNA was pivotal in achieving this balance. He established guidelines for integrating the five-dot logo into each product, retail environments, media, and marketing materials. This consistent visual language helped create a cohesive identity for Alpha Project products across different sports categories.
One of the key challenges Morrow faced was convincing teams across various sports divisions to adopt a unified visual theme and identity. This effort was crucial in presenting a coherent brand message to consumers, reinforcing the Alpha Project’s position as Nike’s premier innovation platform.
Legacy and Impact: The Alpha Project’s Enduring Influence
While the Alpha Project as a distinct initiative may have concluded, its impact on Nike’s approach to innovation and product design continues to resonate. Many of the technologies and design principles developed under the Alpha Project banner have evolved and been incorporated into Nike’s ongoing product lines.
The Air Presto, for instance, has seen numerous retro releases and variations, becoming a cult classic in the sneaker world. Similarly, technologies like Zoom Air and Shox, which were prominently featured in Alpha Project designs, have become staples in Nike’s performance and lifestyle offerings.
The project’s emphasis on athlete-driven innovation and problem-solving continues to influence Nike’s product development philosophy. By focusing on creating solutions that address specific athletic needs while maintaining accessibility and style, the Alpha Project set a standard for performance-driven design that Nike continues to uphold.
Collector’s Appeal: Alpha Project Models in the Resale Market
As with many innovative sneaker lines, Alpha Project models have gained significant appeal among collectors and sneaker enthusiasts. The unique designs, coupled with their historical significance in Nike’s innovation timeline, have made many Alpha Project shoes highly sought after in the resale market.
Models like the Air Flightposite, Shox BB4, and various iterations of the Air Presto have seen their value appreciate over time. This collector’s appeal extends beyond mere nostalgia; it represents an appreciation for the bold design choices and technological advancements these shoes embodied.
For many collectors, owning an Alpha Project model is akin to possessing a piece of Nike’s innovation history. The distinctive five-dot logo serves as a badge of authenticity, signifying the shoe’s place in this pivotal chapter of Nike’s design evolution.
Lessons from Alpha: Informing Future Innovation Strategies
The Alpha Project offers valuable insights into effective innovation strategies in the athletic apparel and footwear industry. Its success demonstrates the importance of:
- Athlete-Centered Design: Prioritizing solutions to real athletic performance challenges.
- Cross-Category Innovation: Applying technological advancements across different sports and product types.
- Balancing Performance and Accessibility: Creating advanced products that remain attainable to a broad consumer base.
- Consistent Brand Messaging: Developing a cohesive visual and marketing language to unify diverse product offerings.
- Long-Term Vision: Committing to sustained innovation efforts that extend beyond short-term market trends.
These principles continue to inform Nike’s approach to product development and marketing, ensuring that the spirit of the Alpha Project lives on in the company’s ongoing pursuit of athletic innovation.
The Future of Performance Innovation at Nike
While the Alpha Project may no longer exist in its original form, its ethos of continuous innovation and athlete-focused design remains at the core of Nike’s product development philosophy. Today, Nike continues to push the boundaries of athletic performance through initiatives like the Breaking2 project, which aimed to break the two-hour marathon barrier, and the development of adaptive technology in shoes like the Nike Adapt BB.
These modern innovations can be seen as spiritual successors to the Alpha Project, carrying forward its legacy of solving complex athletic challenges through cutting-edge design and technology. As Nike looks to the future, the lessons learned from the Alpha Project continue to shape its approach to creating the next generation of performance products.
The Alpha Project stands as a testament to Nike’s commitment to innovation and its willingness to take bold risks in pursuit of athletic excellence. Its impact extends far beyond the products it introduced, influencing the very fabric of Nike’s innovation culture and setting a standard for performance-driven design that continues to inspire the industry today.
The Brand’s Defunct Best In-Class Performance Project
Words By Drew Hammell
Five little dots: a logo so simple yet intended to signify so much.
At the time, most people didn’t think twice about them and few these days remember them, but the dots represented a major new undertaking for Nike: the Alpha Project. By the end of the ’90s, the five-dot logo started popping up on Swoosh sneakers, including the Air Zoom Citizen runner, the Air Zoom GP basketball shoe, and the Air Zoom Beyond tennis model.
Nike launched Alpha Project on New Year’s Day 1999, and the philosophy was simple: identify and solve product performance problems for (and with) the athlete. Michael Morrow was Alpha Project global creative director and remembers the vision well.
“It was meant to be a long-term initiative to focus on the most relevant innovations in product per category,” Morrow says. “This would not necessarily mean the most expensive product, but the most exciting product from an innovative and commercial opportunity [standpoint]. We were looking for new ‘juice’ in the brand in each category, and these needed to be products that were attainable from a price-point perspective because we were putting a lot of marketing dollars behind Alpha.”
Those marking dollars included a series of manic ads directed by Michael Bay of Bad Boys and Armageddon fame and starring Seattle Supersonics’ Gary Payton and comic actor Harland Williams.
Nike Olympics creative director Ken Black was brought in at the project’s inception with the task of creating the perfect logo. “We were told that we needed a logo to indicate Nike’s best-in-class performance products — for only those that were truly elevated,” Black says. “This meant an additional logo on the most innovative and beautiful products we have ever made. We asked the obvious question: Won’t another logo on this product actually degrade it?”
Getty Images / Allsport / Jed Jacobsohn
The goal for the design team was to create a logo to complement Nike’s Swoosh logo rather than detract from it.
“’Alpha’ provided a context for us,” says Black. “Five letters indicating five steps we take to ideate, create, test, and prove these products — starting with the first one, alpha, which is always talking to athletes. This provided a narrative to guide more development and conversations connected to these products. It also gave us the simple direction for our primary mark, which was simply five dots.”
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A minimalist approach was used on early storyboards and in presentations of this new identity and way of thinking about innovation and storytelling. “We began thinking of this as less of a logo and more of an indicator or a signal,” says Black. “Something that for those in the know would stand out, but in the context of beautiful product design could also almost disappear.”
At the design team’s first presentation to senior management, they showed hand-drawn black and white documents and images of highways with their dashed and reflective center lines, the lights that line an airport runway at night, words in braille, and so on.
Getty Images / Corbis
“My job was to create the visual DNA for the Alpha brand identity, which included the use of the five silver dots in a row logo, the guidelines for how that should be integrated into each product, into our retail stores, media, and marketing materials, and the overall touch and feel of Alpha,” says Morrow. One of Morrow’s trickiest tasks was convincing people across different sports categories to buy into one aligned visual theme and identity.
The first Alpha Project sneakers came out at the start of 1999. Nike Running’s Air Zoom Citizen was inspired by legendary US sprinter Michael Johnson’s track spikes and featured visible Zoom Air cushioning in both the heel and forefoot. Nike Tennis’ Air Zoom Beyond for Andre Agassi featured visible Zoom Air and a Dri-FIT lining. Nike Basketball’s Air Zoom GP, meanwhile, featured a ratcheted fastening system that looked like it belonged on a snowboarding boot rather than a basketball shoe.
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The next couple of years threw up more memorable Alpha Project models across categories, including 1999 basketball shoe the Air Flightposite and 2000’s Air Kukini, Shox BB4, and Air Presto. Designed by Tobie Hatfield, brother of Tinker, and surviving long beyond the Alpha Project, the Air Presto ditched traditional sneaker sizing, coming in sizes 3XS to 3XL, and was dubbed the “T-shirt for your foot” on release. Along with the sneakers came clothing, sunglasses, and other gear.
Plenty of Alpha Project models have seen retro releases over the years, but many remain in the vault. Twenty years since launch, it’s safe to say that some Alpha Project designs were a bit out-there concept-wise. But they were fun, creative takes that pushed the boundaries of style and functionality. Maybe it’s time to revisit a few more of those models.
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For a deeper dive into Nike, watch the video below.
Sneaker History Nike Air Alpha Force Michael Jordan
Written by Todd Krevanchi
As we approach the halfway point of the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan’s rookie season in the NBA and release of the Air Jordan 1, we continue to come across other milestone moments which commemorate his playing career and his spot on the sneaker game’s Mount Rushmore.
Over the last 30 years, there have been 29 signature Air Jordans in a myriad of colorways both at original release and at retro or re-retro or re-re-retro or, well, you get the picture. But what about the non-signatures that MJ wore on the court? Most recently, Marvin Barias (@MJO23DAN) of Sole Collector chronicled the history of the NBA and its “Banned” colorway along with the Air Ship, the much-documented shoe Jordan began his career in.
Michael Jordan wearing the NBA’s “Banned” red and black colorway of the Air Ship. — Photo Uncredited
In addition to the Air Ship, another non-signature/non-Jordan Brand shoe which got a lot of exposure at the time MJ wore it was the Air Flight 1. Dave Whitehead (@SneakerDave) told us the story of the gentleman’s agreement between Jordan and Penny which lead to this occurrence.
Michael Jordan wears the Air Flight One. — Photo via Barry Gossage of Getty Images
During the 1987-88 season, we found him often wearing the low-cut of the Air Jordan II, and rumors of his desire to leave the Swoosh had people thinking he was upset with the final product that Bruce Kilgore and Peter Moore put out.
On January 30, 1988, Jordan decided to toss aside his signature for another shoe in the Nike stable: The Air Alpha Force.
Nike Air Alpha Force Lineup. — Photo via Nike Basketball Product CatalogJordan wears the Nike Air Alpha Force January 30, 1988 and drops 28 vs.
the Knicks. — Photo via COMPLEX
It was the Air Alpha Force which played the role of the bridge between the Peter Moore/Bruce Kilgore designed low-cut Air Jordan II and the Tinker Hatfield designed Air Jordan III, which MJ would debut just a week later in the Dunk Contest and All-Star Game in Chicago. MJ, of course, set Chicago on fire that weekend winning both the Dunk Contest and All-Star Game MVP honors. Michael’s relationship with Tinker for the Air Jordan line is well documented.
At the time of the game, the Air Revolution was Nike’s premiere technological basketball shoe… and also a Hatfield design. Even though it had no “real” accompanying low-cut silhouette (although it could be debated that the Air Ace 88 is its counterpart), the design of the Air Alpha Force is drenched with Hatfield’s Air Revolution features. This leads us to believe that his fingerprint was partially or completely in the design of the Air Alpha Force.
I guess it could be speculated that it was Hatfield’s impact on the Air Alpha Force which began the process of MJ deciding to stay with Nike… or maybe MJ’s feet just needed more or less forefoot support that game.
The reason behind Jordan wearing the Air Alpha Force on that night, and only once, may never be known, but it certainly ranks up there with him wearing the Air Flight 1, while having a signature shoe.
Care to watch MJ stunt in the Air Alpha Force and drop a cool 28? Be our guest…
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Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% – the running shoe of the future
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Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% is the pinnacle of running shoe performance in the NEXT% family. They were created to help athletes overcome barriers.
It combines ZoomX cushioning foam with Zoom Air units in the forefoot and a full-length carbon fiber plate.
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Shoes that make you fly
Eliud Kipchoge at the Vienna Marathon
In October 2019, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge completed the seemingly impossible 2-hour marathon milestone. He ran the distance in 01:59:40 in the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% prototype.
This remarkable achievement is the culmination of years of collaboration between Eliud and Nike, beginning with Kipchoge’s attempt to break the two-hour barrier in 2017. Eliud’s feat inspired the world’s fastest runners to test their own speed limits. Now ordinary runners can also access the shoes in which he ran at a distance in Vienna.
“For runners, records like the four-minute mile and the two-hour marathon are indicators of progress.
These are obstacles that test human potential. When someone like Eliud overcomes them, our collective belief about what is possible changes. Barriers inspire innovators. Like athletes in front of a barrier, we are forced to think differently and contribute to revolutionary progress in shoe design.”
Tony Bignell, Nike Vice President of Footwear Innovation
These are obstacles that test human potential. When someone like Eliud overcomes them, our collective belief about what is possible changes. Barriers inspire innovators. Like athletes in front of a barrier, we are forced to think differently and contribute to revolutionary progress in shoe design.”Air matters
Two streamlined Zoom Air pods provide even more energy return than just the ZoomX foam in Vaporfly NEXT%.
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Paired with ZoomX Foam and Zoom Air inserts, Full Height Arch Support Plate Flyplate carbon fiber gives you a feeling of speed with every step.
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The Vaporfly NEXT% uses the same thickness plate for all shoe sizes.
D Alphafly NEXT% plate is specially selected for each size. In small sizes, it is more flexible, and in large sizes, it is more rigid.
AtomKnit fabric
AtomKnit fabric
During testing, the Nike Innovation team found that the extra foam and two Zoom Air units increased the overall weight of the shoe. To drop a few tens of grams, a team of specialists developed a new Flyknit upper called AtomKnit . Familiar Flyknit fabric is steamed and stretched for a lightweight, contoured fit with minimal water absorption and improved breathability.
VaporWeave Material
VaporWeave Material
Another unique material used in the construction of the shoe is the VaporWeave . It is very durable and lightweight, as well as waterproof, which allows you to safely pour water on a distance.
Platform NEXT%
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The NEXT% platform is the culmination of Nike’s commitment to creating shoes with a tangible edge.
NEXT% is about building more effective relationships between the body and technology. This allows athletes to overcome personal barriers and sometimes set records. The ultimate combination of sports science and purposeful design.
The Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% Shoe is part of a Summer 2020 product lineup that also includes the Air Zoom Tempo NEXT%, an additional training shoe that brings the Alphafly principles to everyday use, plus spikes Nike Air Zoom Victory , which extended the signature design of the NEXT% series to new sports disciplines.
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Alphafly NEXT% test at Kaptagat camp in Kenya
For two years, the Nike Sport Research Lab team visited the Kaptagat training camp in Kenya to test the Alphafly NEXT% with some elite runners, including Eliud Kipchoge. The personal experience of using these sneakers by athletes was important.
9The 0002 Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% is available in Black, Lime and Valerian Blue to Nike Club Members on June 2, 2020.
