To fully benefit from Unit 2: Digital footwear design, you should have:

• An strong interest in CAD for footwear and fashion footwear 
• A familiarity with Photoshop 
• Prior experience (intermediate or above) of drawing / sketching

Proficiency in the use of computer aided design and manufacture has become imperative in today's ever demanding fashion and lifestyle industries. London College of Fashion is at the forefront of technological advances and has invested in state of the art technology and software to make leading CAD/CAM technology and 3D design software available to students.

We have more then 10 years experience working with three-dimensional body scanners and have conducted benchmark trials of new systems, evaluated measurement extraction software and supported the continuing development of shape analysis.

Our INFOOT digital foot scanner uses safe laser technology and moving scan heads to capture 3D data of an individual foot or last. The shape and measurements can then be used in 3D design processes.

Following design of heel units in Romans CAD the 3D CAD files may be exported to rapid prototyping to realise a prototype model on the Z-corp 3D printer. Digital fashion is the future.

On this unit you will: 

• Investigate product development solutions for design, digitizing, flattening images 3D to 2D, pattern cutting, pattern manipulation and lay planning.
• Gain experience of 3D scanning technology through lecture and demonstration in the use of the INFOOT digital foot scanner 
• Have the ability to realise designs in three dimensions using the Romans CAD software package and E-lasts (digital lasts)
• Develop a 3D product range in Romans CAD, utilising the software's 3D functionality to take snapshots of designs from varying views facilitating their display as a product range in the Adobe Photoshop software package.
• Have knowledge of the processes and technologies involved in rapid prototyping through participation in a lecture and demonstration.
• Use Romans Cad to design a heel unit which will be exported from Romans Cad as a file for manufacture in the Rapid prototype machine
• Import a 2D last with style lines from Adobe Illustrator into Romans Cad for use in the development of a 3D shoe design.
• Explore the process of creating a flattening. 
• The process will culminate in utilising the pattern cutting functionality of Romans CAD to produce a pattern which could be taken into the work room to produce a sample shoe and to produce a layplan.

Length of unit: 4 weeks
Total class hours: 60
Non-class hours (homework, research, self directed study): 30
Unit level: beginners/intermediate
Study Abroad credits: 6