From Nike Air to Face Shields

In two weeks, Nike created personal protective equipment, without any prior experience creating PPE. In response to the coronavirus, Nike, like many other companies, we’re trying to figure ways to help with the medical supply shortage.

I am amazed at how fast they created a design and improved on it in such a short amount of time. After a brief meeting, the team began building prototypes with the materials they used in Nike apparel. By Lunch, they had created 24 models. That same evening they had nurses test the more hopeful prototypes and get feedback. With the feedback they received, they quickly turned around and made adjustments to the design.

I love that Nike focuses on the UX designs of their products. The PPE they created used drawstrings from apparel, collared padding from their shoes, and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), found in Nike air soles, made their PPE reusable, and easy to remove quickly with one hand.

Nike has supplied 290,000 pieces of PPE to hospitals at no charge since April 3. To read more, Check out Fast Company’s Article here.