JOHN HELF

Welcome to my website! My name is John Helf, and I am a sports product designer who is passionate about creating connection. Whether it be through the beauty of small moments, or the struggle of mighty movements, I love when little design details fuel imaginative aesthetics, and I hope my work inspires individuals to own their story.

JOHN HELF

Welcome to my website! My name is John Helf, and I am a sports product designer who is passionate about creating connection. Whether it be through the beauty of small moments, or the struggle of mighty movements, I love when little design details fuel imaginative aesthetics, and I hope my work inspires individuals to own their story.

Serving: Miu Miu Pickleball Collection
2024
Designed during my equipment studio at UOSPD, Serving is a pickleball paddle and bag collection I designed for the brand Miu Miu. Capturing the brand's playful yet sophisticated aesthetic, Serving features a paddle that emulates the iconic Wander matelassé bag, along with a crossbody cover that mimics their Ivy leather bag.
CARACAL
2024
Designed during my footwear studio at UOSPD, Caracal is a basketball shoe I created with the goal of making a "super shoe" for lateral agility. Throughout the project I was able to hone my skills in research, ideation, prototyping, and rendering.
Wave Rocker
2024
Designed during my equipment studio at UOSPD, the Wave Rocker is a pair of racing sunglasses designed for desert ultramarathon runners. Featuring biomimicry-inspired lenses that adapt to harsh sunlight like cuttlefish eyes, and chameleon-arm-inspired temple grips, these blades ensure a secure and comfortable fit through every stride, even in the toughest conditions.
elevé
2024
elevé is a ballet training footwear project I designed during my spring semester at UO SPD. The goal of this project was to create a ballet shoe that helped new dancers as they learned proper form. elevé displays my passion for creating innovative products that inspire athletes to push their limits and also allows me to develop my creative process and love of aesthetics.
New Balance x Sydney McLaughlin Concept
2022
The New Balance Be. Fly. Is a New Balance and Sydney Mclaughlin Concept collaboration I created in 2022. This project brief was self-guided but displays my skills in branding, footwear design, as well as some 3d modeling.
Iceland Olympic Jacket: Land of Fire and Ice
2024
In the winter of 2024, I was able to design an olympic ceremony jacket for Iceland. My inspiration for this project came from molten lava topography, melting ice work, and Salehe Bembury, all coming together to create a visually striking quilted puffer. Throughout this project I worked on skills such as sketching, sewing, pattern drafting, as well as CLO3D for final renders.
Florsheim Versa Weave
2022
The Versa Weave is a sock I developed and designed during my internship with Florsheim Shoe Company in 2022. The Versa Weave debuted in the fall of 2023 and was the first ever product I ever designed to go market!
Florsheim x LaCroix
2022
Created during my internship with Florsheim Shoe Company, I was inspired to design a boat shoe that incorporated my own aesthetic utilizing the sparkling water brand LaCroix. Throughout this project, I was able to incorporate my own interests in collaboration design, as well as creatively combine two Wisconsin brands.
Florsheim x New Glarus
2022
Created during my internship with Florsheim Shoe Company, I was inspired to design a boat shoe that incorporated my own aesthetic utilizing the brewery brand New Glarus. Throughout this project, I was able to incorporate my own interests in collaboration design, as well as creatively combine two Wisconsin brands.
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