Stefan Sagmeister designs shoes visualizing renewable energy and homelessness data

Graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister has developed two shoe designs for the German footwear brand Ekn, transforming data into wearable art. These shoes are currently on display at Sagmeister's exhibition "Finally, Something Good" at the Gaîté Lyrique gallery in Paris, running until April 2027.

The exhibition aims to encourage a long-term perspective on global issues. One shoe, titled "Bring It On," is a multi-colored sneaker that visualizes data on renewable electricity. The relative sizes of the leather panels on the shoe represent different energy sources, based on figures from the Energy Institute's 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy. Yellow, the largest panel, signifies hydropower, followed by black for wind, pink for solar, and red for other renewables.

The second shoe, a boot named "Like a Complete Unknown," uses circular appliqués to illustrate the relative homelessness rates in six countries. The area of each circle corresponds to the number of individuals living on streets and in public spaces per 100,000 inhabitants, according to OECD data. The largest circles represent the U.S. at 76 and Germany at 46, respectively.

Both shoe designs are available for purchase on Ekn's website for over $300. A portion of the proceeds, 10%, is allocated to either the climate innovation think tank Future Cleantech Architects or the Coalition for the Homeless in New York. Sagmeister stated that the data, whether on energy or homelessness, is not predetermined, emphasizing that differing decisions can lead to significantly different outcomes.