(TAB) On is founded in 2009 in Zurich and launches the «Cloudtec®» technology platform for running shoe outsoles. A soft landing and a hard push-off is the unique pitch of the brand. Thilo has started working with the On founders some months before the brand was even born. Together they elaborated the product design language of the brand. To design shoes which deliver a performance statement yet are not overcharged has been a key design thought from the early days. In over nine years – for some years alone, then together with his team – Thilo has designed the whole range of the brand. While focussing entirely on shoes during the first few years, an apparel and textile accessory collection was added to the brands portfolio. Until today, both segments, shoes and apparel, see a significant number of products being added every year, all designed by the same team. In parallel, Thilo and crew developed as well countless solutions for displaying On’s products in retail and on fairs. Photos ©Philipp Haenger / ©Thomas Stöckli
Soon after On hit the market, the retailers required special displays. We asked the question what can be done with an On that can not be done with another shoe. The result is a modular and flat packed display system which displays the shoe «mirrored». It works without tools and is very efficient in production.
The result is what Thilo calls his ideal design business case: «Collaborating with and learning from an ambitious, innovative business team with a vision; enjoying full freedom and responsibility given to the designer; and showing what applying a design strategy and a design language consequently to a whole product range can do for a brand».