F L A U N T
While shoe-shopping enthusiasts and professional athletes have little in common, both recognize the importance of having a great pair of shoes on their feet, seamlessly blending design, innovation, and performance.
Sara Valeri is stepping up to the plate with SVR Design to bridge the divide. Leveraging the power of the digital age to create a truly unique sports product design that protects athletes with sophisticated styles, Valeri is already breaking barriers as a woman in design. She is excited to bring innovation to the next level by using virtual reality (VR) in design for performance footwear.
Hailing from Mérida and growing up in a family of sports enthusiasts, Sara Valeri is a proud Venezuelan designer. Arguably, this unique journey may well be precisely what makes her designs so singular. After moving to the US in 2018 to study industrial design, she began her studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design, or SCAD, eventually earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design.
Continuing her pursuit of becoming an industrial designer, Valeri earned her Master’s in Sports Product Design at the University of Oregon. She has continued to grow professionally, working with popular brands like Under Armour, Faryl Robin, and HOKA, where she has “contributed to cutting-edge design projects in footwear innovation,” making a name for herself among other emerging footwear designers.
In each of her roles, Valeri has consistently pushed the boundaries of innovation in footwear design. Her collaboration with Carbon, a pioneering 3D-printing company known for revolutionizing Adidas’ footwear technology, allowed her to integrate Carbon’s advanced 3D Design Engine into her own work. Using this cutting-edge tool, she developed intricate lattice structures strategically mapped to support key areas of the foot, enhancing comfort, ventilation, and faster water drainage in the midsole. This breakthrough was central to her jungle footwear project, where she leveraged Carbon’s high-performance materials to create a shoe optimized for extreme environments (In collaboration with Sherpa Design a Carbon Global Design Partner)
“MAWARI” Jungle shoe by Sara Valeri Picture credit: Jordan Marquez
Beyond Carbon, Valeri also made history with Zellerfeld, where she became the first woman designer to launch a shoe on their 3D-printing platform. Seeing her Digi-Puff design come to life marked a pivotal moment—not just for her career, but for aspiring women designers and immigrant students breaking into the field. Her ability to blend performance, sustainability, and digital craftsmanship continues to redefine the future of sports footwear.
While the collaboration with Zellerfeld represents an exciting and consequential moment in her career, it’s hardly Valeri’s sole achievement. With an ongoing internship at HOKA and previously at Under Armour as a performance footwear designer, she has continued her push for excellence, being selected for the Pensole x New Balance Masterclass and Competition in 2021 and serving as a Gravity Sketch Ambassador in 2024. Valeri’s work has been honored at the 2024 International Design Awards (IDAs), the FIT Sport Design Awards, and the 2023 Global Footwear Awards.
There’s no slowing her down, either. Valeri intends to continue growing her “SVR Design” brand into a platform that leads innovation in sports product design, exploring sustainability and accessibility, and eventually launching a community-driven design studio.
As Valeri leverages gravity sketch capabilities and parametric design in footwear, this focus on technology can likely boost growth. She will almost certainly realize her goal of creating a community where creativity meets cutting-edge innovation.
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