Tinker Hatfield
Tinker Linn Hatfield, Jr., (born April 30, 1952, Hillsboro, Oregon) [1] is an American designer of numerous Nike athletic shoe models, including the Air Jordan 3 through Air Jordan 15, the twentieth anniversary Air Jordan XX, the Air Jordan XXIII, the 2010 (XXV), the 2015 Air Jordan XX9 (XXIX), and other athletic sneakers including the world's first "cross training" shoes, the Nike Air Trainer. Hatfield oversees Nike's "Innovation Kitchen". He is Nike's Vice President for Design and Special Projects.[2][3] For his many innovative designs and numerous creations over more than three decades, Hatfield is considered a legend of design.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Tinker Linn Hatfield | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | University of Oregon (B.Arch., 1977) |
Alma mater | University of Oregon |
Occupation | designer; architectural designer |
Known for | Air Jordan, Air Max |
Spouse(s) | Jackie Hatfield |
Children | 3 daughters |
Parent(s) | Tinker Haven Hatfield, Sr. |
Nike
Hatfield joined Nike in 1981, and in 1985 started working on shoe design.[10] He realized that his architectural skills could be applied to shoes. Hatfield was also published for the architectural design of his Portland, Oregon home. He claims to have designed the cross-trainer as a "multi-sport" shoe when he realized people at his Oregon gym brought various sneakers with them for diverse activities such as basketball, aerobics, weightlifting and jogging. In 1987, Tinker Hatfield designed the Air Max 1 Running Shoe after visiting the Centre Georges Pompidou;[2] and in 1990 released the second in the Air Max line, the Air Max 90. In 2014, Hatfield indicated that Nike would unveil a shoe with power-lacing technology, as worn by Marty McFly in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II, which partially takes place in the year 2015.[11]
He also created the graphic design on the basketball court at the Matthew Knight Arena at the University of Oregon; the facility opened in 2011.[3]
Hatfield's younger brother, Tobie Hatfield, joined Nike in 1990 as a senior engineer.[12]
In 2013, Hatfield worked on both Nike and Jordan brand concept car designs for Gran Turismo 6.[13]
Hatfield was profiled in the first season of the Netflix docu-series Abstract: The Art of Design.[14]
In 2019, Hatfield received his own sneaker, titled the, Nike React "Tinker Hatfield".[15] The shoes were premiered by him at SXSW.
Air Jordans
Tinker Hatfield was the lead designer of Air Jordans III through XV, XX, and XX3. Additionally, Hatfield co-designed Air Jordans 2010 and XXX.
Honors and awards
- One of Sportstyle Magazine's most influential people on the business side of sports, 1993 & 1996
- One of Fortune magazine's "100 Most Influential Designers" of the 20th century, 1998[10]
- Ellis F. Lawrence Medal, University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts, 2008[16]
- Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Special Contribution to Sport, 2008[1]
Further reading
- Keates, Nancy. 2009. "Summer Camp Comes Home: In Idaho, a top Nike designer and his wife build mess-hall memories," Wall Street Journal, October 23
- Plummer, Eric. 2011. "Tinker Hatfield: Nike vice president of design and Air Jordan architect", Sandpoint Magazine, Summer
References
- "Special Contribution to Sport: Tinker Hatfield [web page is mislabeled as Bob Blackburn]". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. 2009. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- Thomas Prudon, "Nike Air Max 1 - Respect the Architects", Sneakers.fr. Accessed: May 24, 2012.
- Richard, Brandon (November 7, 2010). "Tinker Hatfield Designs New University of Oregon Basketball Court". Sole Collector. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- Boykins, Austin. "Tinker Hatfield". Hypebeast. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
- Winter, Jack (2015-09-18). "Tinker Hatfield Explains The Story Of The Air Jordan XI Low IE". Uproxx.com. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
- "Tinker Hatfield Interview". Highsnobiety. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
- "Tinker Hatfield". SneakerNews.com. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
- Nojima, Aaron. "Happy Birthday to Sneaker Legend Tinker Hatfield". Sneakerhistory.com. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
- http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/2014/07/tinker-hatfield-nike-shoe-legend-bike-designer.html
- Peterson, Erik (December 19, 2002). "Tinkering with success". Albany Democrat-Herald. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- Billington, James (February 17, 2014). "Nike is actually making Marty McFly's self-lacing shoes". New York Post. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- Wieberg, Steve (February 19, 2006). "Hatfields & Olympics: 'It's gotta be the shoes'". USA Today. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- "What's up with Nike and Jordan in Vision Gran Turismo?". Destructoid.com. 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
- http://www.itsnicethat.com/news/abstract-art-of-deign-netflix-series-190117
- "Tinker Hatfield Debuts New Nike REACT Model at SXSW". Nice Kicks. Nice Kicks. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- "2008 Ellis F. Lawrence Medal Honors Tinker Hatfield". University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.