Established in 1985, the ASICS Institute of Sport Science never stops asking questions about valuable products and services. The pursuit of human-centric design for ASICS has a strong base with ONITSUKA Co., the precursor of ASICS led by founder Kihachiro Onitsuka in 1949. Kenichi Harano, Senior General Manager of ASICS Institute of Sport Science dives into human-centric design.
Meticulous study of athletes’ movement, quantification and listening to what athletes say about themselves is essential to research and development. All athletes want to control their movements with greater force, speed and precision. We listen, using our technology when developing products to design and give shape to these goals. This is how we take human-centric design to the next level. This is what drives us to develop ASICS shoes, apparel and equipment for every athlete. This unchanging research philosophy for ASICS evolves and deepens with our sports tech.
To focus on human-centric design at ASICS, we’re also researching universal design to meet more consumer needs and deliver the benefits they want, drawing our design inspiration for ASICS shoes from a complex analysis of movements and actions. ASICS Institute of Sport Science research and development process begins with human-centric design. It starts with the rigorous analysis of human movement, followed by using computer simulation to design the structure and the materials of ASICS shoes. Then, we have athletes actually wear the ASICS running shoes so we’re able to ensure every design has been tested and proven. With the scientific insights we gain by testing usability, we learn what the best shoes really mean, for every athlete. Because we’re able to conduct real, functional evaluations, we ensure that every product we put out meets ASICS standards.
ASICS Institute of Sport Science principle of “Start by striving for the peak” was a favorite saying of our founder Kihachiro Onitsuka. In the 1950s, people were struggling to make marathon shoes that didn’t cause blisters. Mr. Onitsuka teamed up with the top athletes of the time to tackle the problem, designing innovative shoes to help minimize this sport injury. Listening to athletes’ concerns like this is what helps us identify and overcome these problems. This approach is still alive and well in ASICS research and development process today. Our driving force remains in the passion, concerns and hopes of athletes. Through continuous improvement in our technologies and asking the hard questions to answer athletes’ challenges, we make our ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body™’ philosophy a reality.
Whether supporting performance athletes or lifetime athletes, at ASICS, it’s about making a world where everyone can achieve mental and physical fulfillment through lifelong participation in sports.
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