Bode Oluwa
About Bode
Bode Oluwa is the Founder and Creative Director of KRE8 design studio, a consultancy he established after starting out in the sports design industry in 1999. He has worked for numerous leading global and Asian sports brands, and held a successful position as Director of Innovation at Li-Ning Sports, China.
As a National Championship Track and Field medalist in Great Britain and a Product Design graduate from Central Saint Martin’s College in London, Bode’s passions have naturally led him towards innovative design and creative leadership.
His experience extends to all product categories, including footwear, accessories, and equipment, and ranging from technical innovation, professional performance and sports lifestyle products. Bode has created numerous original patent inventions, and was awarded the Red Dot 2017 International Product Design Award for a new Shear Reduction basketball shoe. His mission is to inspire, influence and create fresh ideas to innovation, product design, and the creative process.
Education
While at secondary school, Bode developed a strong passion for art, winning artist of the year awards and exhibiting at numerous venues. He earned money by making shin guards from bubble wrap and cardboard and selling them in the playground.
In the latter part of his secondary education, Bode was commissioned by several art projects, run by local councils, to design their corporate identity and to paint large-scale murals in many locations.
At the same time, Bode had a passion for Track and Field athletics and was encouraged by his sports teacher to pursue this seriously, having won every competition during his school years. Bode went on to achieve numerous titles including National, Regional, and County Championship medals. He also won London Schools’ Championships in consecutive years and was ranked 6th in Great Britain for the 100m sprint. Bode’s sporting achievements earned him a three-year sports scholarship to develop his talent further and increased his confidence in other areas of his life.
With his increased motivation and following the advice of his art teacher, Bode pursued his passion for art by studying a Foundation course at the prestigious art and design college ‘Central St Martins’ in London. There he discovered a new interest in product design, which he later studied as a BA degree course. During that time, Bode discovered the path he wanted to take: fusing his love for sports with his creative ability in design, and developing solutions to enhance performance.
Consequently, he directed his final year degree project on the design and innovation of advanced footwear fastening systems, on which he also wrote a detailed dissertation. This would be the start of his career.
Before graduating in 1999, Bode approached every major sports brand hoping to sell his ideas to a big company. After many disappointments, he had the opportunity to present his concepts and advertising campaign to Puma International. The footwear management team were impressed with his creativity and created a position for him shortly afterwards.
Career
Puma International
London
Bode began his career at Puma International in London, where he gained experience traveling the world and working with an international team of designers. He specialised in multiple product design categories, from high functional and performance worn by professional athletes, to urban lifestyle and fashion.
He also specialised in concept design for motorsports, and designed products in collaboration with Ferrari and BMW. His proudest achievement was having his product designs featured in the Asian cinematic film Shaolin Soccer.
Umbro International Sports & Nike
Manchester
In 2005, after five exciting years at Puma, Bode accepted an offer from Umbro International sports in Manchester. There, he focused on design for running and soccer footwear, equipment, and accessories and gained unique experience of diversifying into cross category design.
During Nike's acquisition of Umbro in 2008, Bode was selected to direct, design, and develop the National F.A. England ball used at international games. Watching the England team play with his football design live at Wembley Stadium was a significant moment.
In 2008, Bode fulfilled his dream of attending the Olympic games in Beijing, a plan he had made after first seeing the Bird's stadium concept drawing in 2004. It was an exciting experience that would later influence his decision to move to China when he was offered two opportunities in 2010; a design position at Adidas in Portland USA and a senior design position in Xiamen China for Anta sports.
Anta Sports
China
Bode decided to move to China not only to challenge himself in a new environment, but also because of the growing market potential there. When Bode joined Anta in 2010, he held the position of Lead Running Category Designer. The first six months were the most challenging due to the change in work mode and practices, and he almost gave up. However, his ability to adjust and his determination to create fresh initiative earned him much recognition from colleagues and company leaders, and he was asked to head up the company’s first innovation design department.
In 2012, one of Bode’s design concepts, A-SILO running shoe, became the brand's statement product. Due to its innovative design, functionality, and commerciality it is one of the company’s greatest successes to date. During this period Bode also developed a passion for leadership inside and outside of work, encouraging others to build on their talents, expand their creativity and take brave steps in pursuit of unique design and innovations.
Li-Ning Sports
Beijing
In 2013, Bode was headhunted for the position of Director of Innovation at Li-Ning Sports in Beijing. His desire for a new challenge and to move to the Olympic city he had visited, made it an attractive opportunity and so he accepted.
At Li-Ning, Bode designed numerous patented footwear inventions and successfully directed teams to overcome design and developmental challenges in order to bring products to market. His creativity and passion for sport also landed him the position of Creative Director for the Chinese national team kit for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
As Director, Bode's primary drive was creating innovation for purpose in real functionality, wearer experience and consumer desire. The highlight at Li-Ning was inventing and designing a new technology for a basketball shoe concept and winning the International Red Dot product design awards in 2017, the first time in the company’s 26-year history.
KRE8
Xiamen
After 18 years in the sports industry, Bode pursued a long-awaited desire to establish his own creative house and to inspire and collaborate with numerous brands and companies. KRE8 design studio opened in Xiamen in 2017, as a product innovation design studio.
Although great ideas are presented every day, few reach the market due to numerous creative, technical and organisational challenges. With professional product experience spanning from 1999, Bode not only understands the challenges of introducing new initiatives and products, but also thrives on tackling them. Bode dedicates his time to sharing his creative leadership and experience with companies and future talents within the design industry, working seamlessly with them to apply creative thought processes and strategic design practices in pursuit of innovation.
Bode believes innovation is achievable through creative exploration, visual aesthetics, strategic planning and insights into consumer behavior. He inspires organizations to find fresh opportunities, and motivates teams to work together to create products with real benefits, and to ultimately reach out and connect to consumer needs and desires.