Designer Compares 30 Shoes And Cars To Show How Similar Their Designs Are

On his website there is more information on Niek and his career: "Niek Pulles (born 1986, Arnhem) is a Dutch contemporary artist. He graduated in 2009 from the Design Academy Eindhoven, establishing studio HEYNIEK in Amsterdam shortly thereafter. In 2016 he moved to Portland, OR where he continues his art and design practice (Nike NSW FUEL / Special projects and innovation). Through the use of inventive material and technology, his work asks us questions about who we are, how we see the future, and how we want to experience it."

"Having grown up with five brothers in a wildly creative household, Niek maintains a reverence for youthful and unhindered experimentation. His hands-on approach is informed by childhood memories, archetypes, and a need-for-speed attitude which aims to keep ideas flexible, adaptive, and unconstrained."

There are many articles on Bored Panda comparing things. This one, for example, shows the differences between the 'woman's side of the bed' and the 'man's side of the bed'. Or this one, where it shows how similar movie posters can be. Or perhaps you would like to see Tilda Swinton and her outfits that look like the packaging of Doritos? Click the links and enjoy!

Niek told us what inspires him to create: "Just Do It. That attitude inspired me since I was little. Always doodling cars as a kid and kind of obsessed with new sneakers too. Every summer I would get a new pair! A vivid memory of looking forward to a newly designed sneaker. Bringing these two worlds & memories together made total sense for me.

The juxtaposition of cars and sneakers was on my mind for a while. But finally making them visual was very satisfying. Action—reaction."

The designer told us how he finds these images: "A lot of research. Finding the right angle, color, model, year of make takes a lot of time. With the help of books, magazines, a lot of Google searches, and through conversations with friends and fans sending me references, I get really far. I think a lot of people recognize this language, so I feel a lot of support in the research."

"As a kid, I was already intrigued by the characteristics visible in car design. And after studying art and design, your eyes change and you start looking at everything differently. In 2014, I started researching the automotive industry and its design process and started making sneaker collages out of car parts parallel to that. That’s where it all started. Combining the two worlds. It’s a very strong visual language that makes a lot of sense together. But in 2020 is when I made the literal translation by putting the 2 images together. The compositions help, making the similarity more visible."

Niek shares what his favorite thing about creating these edits is: "The satisfaction of seeing the puzzle pieces fall into place. Feels like winning a level in a game. And noticing the smaller details that make the edits complete. Plus the challenge of finding more rare and unique combinations."

What do you think of Niek's project? Do you think these cars and shoes look similar? Have you ever noticed that some things that have almost nothing in common look alike? Tell us in the comments down below and vote for your favorite ones. Don't forget to go show some love to Niek on his social media pages and other projects.

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