Streamlining Footwear Design with Digital Color & Texture
In the competitive world of footwear and materials design, speed, creativity, and precision are more important than ever. Designers are constantly challenged to bring fresh ideas to market while managing complex collaborations with suppliers and navigating the limitations of traditional, sample-based workflows. The process of developing new colorways and materials often involves multiple rounds of physical sampling, lengthy shipping times, and frequent miscommunications—all of which slow down innovation and increase costs.
Together with PANTORA and a spectrophotometer, the Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix offers a transformative solution: a digital workflow that empowers designers to experiment with color and texture, visualize concepts accurately, and communicate their intent with suppliers using precise digital data. By bridging the gap between inspiration and production, this solution helps teams reduce waste, accelerate decision-making, and unlock new creative possibilities.
Challenges
In today’s fast-paced footwear and materials industry, designers and suppliers face mounting obstacles that slow down innovation and complicate the journey from concept to finished product:
- Need to propose new colorways and materials for projects
- Seeking innovative colors and textures
- Require visual and digital data to complement inspiration
- Frequent back-and-forth and shipping of physical samples with mills
- Inefficient sample approval process slows down development
Solution
When paired with PANTORA and either the Ci7800 benchtop sphere spectrophotometer or MA-T12 multi-angle spectrophotometer, depending on the material type being measured, the Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix solution allows designers and suppliers to exchange digital material files (AXF), enabling rapid iteration and selection of colors and textures. Designers can measure real-world samples, apply brand or custom colors to digital materials and 3D renderings, and share precise visual references with suppliers—reducing the need for physical samples and streamlining communication.
Results
By adopting a digital-first approach to color and texture development, design teams and suppliers can realize measurable improvements across their workflow—from reducing waste and costs to accelerating time-to-market, expanding business and fostering more effective, trustworthy collaboration.
- Fewer physical samples shipped, reducing waste and cost
- Faster time to market and design iteration
- Improved, more trustworthy communication between designers and suppliers
- Greater creative freedom to experiment with colors and textures digitally
How It Works
- Supplier sends a library of new materials via digital material files (AxF) to the designer for inspiration.
- Designer pulls library of new materials supplied by their supplier into PANTORA for evaluation.
- Designer can also use their Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix solution and MA-T12 or Ci7800 to measure colors and textures into PANTORA, creating custom digital materials and apply them to their 3D shoe rendering.
- Designer shares selected AxF files with the supplier, specifying exactly which samples to produce.
- Supplier produces only the most promising physical samples, based on precise digital communication.
This workflow enables both sides to collaborate efficiently, with accurate visual and spectral data guiding decisions.
Featured Products
Dual HDR camera-based surface characterization system with multiple light sources to capture detailed, real-world images for quantifying appearance and testing qualities.
Enables users to capture, store, manage, view and edit virtual materials and digitally exchange them via a vendor neutral Appearance Exchange (AxF) file format.
Sets the standard for high-quality measurement of effect and complex materials, fully characterizing them with 12 spectral angles and a color-calibrated camera.
Industry-leading benchtop sphere spectrophotometers that offer both reflectance and transmission measurements to control critical color on opaque and non-opaque materials with tight tolerances.
Ready to See It in Action?
Fill out the form to connect with our team and receive a personalized walkthrough of how digital color and texture workflows can transform your design process.
