Converse (PRODUCT) RED: Interview with Jeff Hamada
In the shoe that might not have seen the light of day on a retail level, we take the opportunity to speak with Vancouver, Canada’s Jeff Hamada regarding his design for the Converse (PRODUCT) RED campaign as well his approach to graphic design and art. Following a Fine Arts diploma at Langara College, Jeff Hamada would go on to earn a Bachelor degree in Media Arts at the respected Emily Carr Universtiy of Art + Design. Going forward, his talents were immediately recognized by Electronic Arts as he quickly developed an efficient methodology towards commercial art. For most of you, you’re perhaps most familiar with Jeff Hamada’s work for various street and snow brands such as 3sixteen, Soul Assassins, and Endeavor among others, yet this commercial work should by no means be indicative of the full talents of Jeff Hamada. Most recently this Converse project as well as his upcoming work with Livestock are a more rounded take from a truly artistic perspective from the talented individual. The launch of his Converse (PRODUCT) Red All Star High begins tonight, Thursday, February 19th, 2009 with a special gathering hosted by Vancouver sneaker store Livestock’s 4th Ave location. The event begins at 8:00 pm and runs until 11:00 pm.
Interview with Jeff Hamada
Eugene Kan (EK): So how did the opportunity for this project originally come about?
Jeff Hamada (JH): Well I guess I would be lying if I said it had everything to do with my skill as a designer. It mostly came about because I did the friendly Canadian thing and offered to show some people around Vancouver.
EK: So basically you exchanged tour-guide services for the chance to do a shoe?
JH: Yea pretty much. My friend John asked if I would show his friends from Boston (Dana and Damion) around town. It turned out that they were both working for Converse and we really hit it off. Shortly after they returned home they contacted me about the project (Converse (PRODUCT) RED). I pretty
much jumped at the opportunity. So I didn’t win some contest (many people assume this for whatever reason), I just kinda weaseled my way in there haha. Somehow I ended up being the only Canadian on the project aside from Tokyo Police Club, who are musicians.
EK: You’re a friendly guy so I don’t doubt it. Would you say this Converse project is probably among your best career highlights thus far?
JH: Yea definitely. I have wanted to work on a shoe for a long time and this project was so wide open – like I could literally do anything I wanted. There was no guarantee that it would ever see the light of day as a retail production shoe but it would tour as part of an art show, at the very least. That meant there wasn’t really any pressure. I didn’t have to worry about coming up with something that would sell or anything like that.
