/caliga

Personal Exploration

CALIGA

I explored how footwear form could respond to individual variation through concept families, variable-density lattices and FDM prototypes.

/CONTRIBUTION

I developed the concept direction, explored footwear forms and lattices in Rhino and Grasshopper, and created renders and prototype artifacts.

ROLE

Personal footwear concept and prototype exploration

STATUS

Personal concept and prototype exploration

/TIMELINE

2023

/TOOLS

Rhino · Grasshopper

/caliga

Personal Exploration

CALIGA

I explored how footwear form could respond to individual variation through concept families, variable-density lattices and FDM prototypes.

/CONTRIBUTION

I developed the concept direction, explored footwear forms and lattices in Rhino and Grasshopper, and created renders and prototype artifacts.

ROLE

Personal footwear concept and prototype exploration

STATUS

Personal concept and prototype exploration

/TIMELINE

2023

/TOOLS

Rhino · Grasshopper

/caliga

Personal Exploration

CALIGA

I explored how footwear form could respond to individual variation through concept families, variable-density lattices and FDM prototypes.

/CONTRIBUTION

I developed the concept direction, explored footwear forms and lattices in Rhino and Grasshopper, and created renders and prototype artifacts.

ROLE

Personal footwear concept and prototype exploration

STATUS

Personal concept and prototype exploration

/TIMELINE

2023

/TOOLS

Rhino · Grasshopper

/Showcase

Project showcase

Lattice/form concept render: regional density was explored as a hypothesis about support and flexibility. The render does not measure either property.

Concept render, distinct from the photographed physical artifacts below.

/Showcase

Project showcase

Lattice/form concept render: regional density was explored as a hypothesis about support and flexibility. The render does not measure either property.

Concept render, distinct from the photographed physical artifacts below.

/Inside the project

01/ Every foot is different

02/ Form and structure

03/ Physical prototypes

04/ What the exploration produced

/Inside the project

01/ Every foot is different

02/ Form and structure

03/ Physical prototypes

04/ What the exploration produced

01

FOOTWEAR CONTEXT

Every foot is different

Exploring how footwear geometry could respond to shape, activity and expression.

01

FOOTWEAR CONTEXT

Every foot is different

Exploring how footwear geometry could respond to shape, activity and expression.

/PROBLEM

Understanding the foot

Foot shape, arch and size vary. CALIGA asks how footwear could respond to this variation while expressing activity and personal style.

Foot anatomy and movement study
/CONCEPT

Personalization as a direction

Scan → Biomechanics → Preferences → Geometry.

The proposed workflow combined foot shape, movement and style preferences into an individual shoe design.

The implemented exploration used Rhino and Grasshopper for form and lattices. The scan-to-geometry and AI workflow remained a proposal.
/RESEARCH

Research

19 interviews and 48 survey responses · Kerala, India · Ages 16–38

User interviews and survey findings

02

FORM EXPLORATION

Form and structure

Sketches, biological references and rendered alternatives.

02

FORM EXPLORATION

Form and structure

Sketches, biological references and rendered alternatives.

/EXPLORATION

From sketches to three footwear directions

Biological structures informed three contrasting footwear families: Snake for running, T-rex for soccer and cross-country, and Dragon as a slip-on.

Initial explorations → refined sketches → three selected concept directions
/FORM DIRECTION

Caliga Snake / Running shoes

Snake endoskeleton informed the skeletal form of this running-shoe direction.

Perspective
More views / 4
Form inspiration
Side view
Top view
Sole view
/FORM DIRECTION

Caliga T-rex / Soccer and cross-country

T-rex endoskeleton informed this soccer and cross-country direction.

Perspective
More views / 4
Form inspiration
Side view
Top view
Sole view
/FORM DIRECTION

Caliga Dragon / Slip-on

Dragon endoskeleton inspired an open, expressive slip-on form.

Perspective
More views / 4
Form inspiration
Side view
Top view
Sole view
/STRUCTURE

Exploring regional density

Regional density, cell spacing and an outer skeleton were explored as ways to vary intended flexibility, support and protection.

Lattice insole study
Structure details
Flex TPU and SLS were material/process references. Energy absorption, flexibility and durability remained hypotheses.
More sketches, references and render views / 31 images
Foot anatomy and movement
Original research graphic / conflicting percentages; retained as source, not a finding
Early ideation
Regional lattice insole
Dragon concept sketch
Snake concept sketch
T-rex concept sketch
Structure and material references
Snake / biological reference
Snake / perspective
Snake / side view
Snake / top view
Snake / sole view
T-rex / biological reference
T-rex / perspective
T-rex / side view
T-rex / top view
T-rex / sole view
Dragon / biological reference
Dragon / perspective
Dragon / side view
Dragon / top view
Dragon / sole view
Black FDM prototype
White FDM prototype
On-foot placement
Held prototype
Proposed workflow / Foot scanning
Proposed workflow / Biomechanics
Proposed workflow / Preferences
Proposed workflow / Generative design

03

PROTOTYPES

Physical prototypes

Taking the exploration beyond the screen.

03

PROTOTYPES

Physical prototypes

Taking the exploration beyond the screen.

/PROTOTYPE

Bringing geometry into physical form

White and black FDM artifacts brought the exploration beyond the screen.

The placement photograph shows the prototype over a socked foot.

White prototype
Black prototype
On-foot placement
Placement is not a fit or wear trial. Material, printer settings and footwear performance remain unrecorded here.

04

REFLECTION

What the exploration produced

Three concept families, lattice studies and physical FDM artifacts.

04

REFLECTION

What the exploration produced

Three concept families, lattice studies and physical FDM artifacts.

From form exploration to physical prototypes

CONTRIBUTION

Three footwear families

Snake, T-rex and Dragon connect biological references, concept sketches and rendered footwear forms.

CONTRIBUTION

Structure and fabrication

Rhino and Grasshopper supported form and variable-density lattice exploration; FDM artifacts brought the geometry into physical form.

LIMIT → NEXT

Make the development traceable

Record an authored parameter-to-geometry example and print settings, then evaluate fit and wear through a defined physical study. Performance and the proposed AI personalization flow remain untested.

From form exploration to physical prototypes

CONTRIBUTION

Three footwear families

Snake, T-rex and Dragon connect biological references, concept sketches and rendered footwear forms.

CONTRIBUTION

Structure and fabrication

Rhino and Grasshopper supported form and variable-density lattice exploration; FDM artifacts brought the geometry into physical form.

LIMIT → NEXT

Make the development traceable

Record an authored parameter-to-geometry example and print settings, then evaluate fit and wear through a defined physical study. Performance and the proposed AI personalization flow remain untested.

From form exploration to physical prototypes

CONTRIBUTION

Three footwear families

Snake, T-rex and Dragon connect biological references, concept sketches and rendered footwear forms.

CONTRIBUTION

Structure and fabrication

Rhino and Grasshopper supported form and variable-density lattice exploration; FDM artifacts brought the geometry into physical form.

LIMIT → NEXT

Make the development traceable

Record an authored parameter-to-geometry example and print settings, then evaluate fit and wear through a defined physical study. Performance and the proposed AI personalization flow remain untested.

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