Footwear design tool

Abstract

Computer-based systems and methods for designing (e.g., customizing) consumer products, articles of footwear, knitted footwear uppers, and the like are provided. In some embodiments, a user may generate and / or modify a footwear design using a footwear design interface. In addition to or as another option, the footwear design interface may be configured to simulate the layout and / or operation of a knitting machine in order to provide the user with an impression of actual design and / or manufacture of an article of footwear. In other embodiments, the system may not allow expected footwear design changes based on limitations associated with inventory availability and footwear design characteristics.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 201580041021.0 and application date June 23, 2015.

[0002] Cross-references to related patent applications

[0003] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 015698, filed on June 23, 2014, entitled “FOOTWEAR DESIGNING TOOL,” the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference for any and all non-limiting purposes. Technical Field

[0004] The disclosed technology relates to systems and methods for designing footwear. More particularly, the disclosed technology relates to methods and systems for designing footwear, including footwear uppers. Background Art

[0005] Conventional athletic footwear includes two main elements: an upper and a sole structure. The upper provides a covering for the foot, which securely holds the foot in the shoe and securely positions the foot relative to the sole structure. In addition, the construction of the upper may have the effect of protecting the foot and providing ventilation, thereby keeping the foot cool and also removing sweat. The sole structure is fixed to the lower surface of the upper, typically between the foot and the ground. In addition to attenuating ground reaction forces and absorbing energy (e.g., providing cushioning), the sole structure may also provide traction and control potentially harmful foot motions such as excessive pronation. Thus, the synergistic effect of the upper and sole structure provides a comfortable structure suitable for a variety of ambulatory activities (e.g., walking and running).

[0006] The upper forms a void inside the footwear for accommodating the foot. The void has the general shape of the foot and is accessed through the ankle opening. Thus, the upper extends over the instep and toe area of ​​the foot, along the middle and sides of the foot, and around the heel area of ​​the foot. A lacing system is typically incorporated into the upper to selectively increase the size of the ankle opening and allow the wearer to change certain dimensions of the upper, particularly girth, to accommodate feet of different proportions. Additionally, the upper may include a tongue that extends under the lacing system to enhance the comfort of the footwear, and the upper may include a heel stabilizer to limit the movement of the heel.

[0007] Various materials may be used in the manufacture of uppers. Some uppers are formed from knitted materials such as thread and / or yarn. The appearance of a knitted upper is different from the appearance of an upper formed from other materials like leather, synthetic leather, and rubber. During the design and manufacture of a knitted upper, a designer typically creates a certain design, and then one or more other people program a knitting machine to manufacture the upper. The separation of the design and manufacturing process portions may result in several uppers being developed and manufactured before the designer approves a design that can be manufactured by a knitting machine. Multiple or repeated creation of many knitted uppers that do not conform to the design concept envisioned by the designer may consume a great deal of time and resources.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method that can allow designers to electronically visualize a knitted upper that more realistically reflects the knitted upper to be manufactured during the design process, allowing the design to be adjusted in real time before manufacturing. This capability can significantly improve the design for the manufacturing process in knitting engineering. Summary of the invention

[0009] The disclosed systems and methods for designing footwear, including footwear uppers, satisfy one or more of the above-identified needs in the art.

[0010] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the technology disclosed in the present invention may be implemented partially or completely using a computer-readable medium, for example, by storing computer-executable instructions or modules or by using a computer-readable data structure.

[0011] Of course, the methods and systems of the above-cited embodiments may also include other additional elements, steps, computer-executable instructions, or computer-readable data structures.

[0012] The details of these and other embodiments of the disclosed technology are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. Other features and advantages of the disclosed technology will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The technology disclosed in the present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent similar elements, and in which:

[0014] Figure 1 A system for designing footwear according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0015] Figure 2A An exemplary interface for designing footwear according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0016] Figure 2B Shown are representations of footwear designs in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2C An exemplary interface for designing footwear according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0018] FIG. 2D to FIG. 2E Shown are representations of footwear designs in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2F A portion of an exemplary interface for designing footwear according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 3 An exemplary interface for designing footwear according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 4 A method for designing footwear according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In general, as noted above, some aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for designing consumer products, such as articles of footwear.

[0023] Any desired type of footwear design data may be controlled, changed, or customized by a user of systems and methods according to aspects of the present disclosure, such as: the color of a portion of an article of footwear (e.g., various upper portions or elements). If desired, systems and methods according to at least some examples of the present disclosure may further allow a user to select from a variety of materials or other features for various portions of an article of footwear, such as: different upper materials; upper thickness; upper hardness features; arch support features; impact reduction features; size, orientation, and / or location of openings or windows in the upper; pattern of openings disposed in the upper; laser cut designs and / or features; laser etched designs and / or features; etc.

[0024] Although described above in conjunction with the design of articles of footwear, aspects of the present disclosure may also be used to design other consumer products such as articles of clothing and the like.

[0025] In the footwear example, a user may be allowed to select various features of the footwear and manipulate the visual image of the footwear through a software application displayed on a user interface or display screen. The user interface may display one or more tools for changing aspects of or otherwise manipulating various design data for the footwear.

[0026] A user may use a computing device to access the design application and / or website. The computing device establishes a communication channel within a network and communicates with a messaging server system (comprising one or more server computers) that provides interactive design features for changing product designs. As disclosed in more detail below, any desired communication links and communication protocols may be used to provide and control data exchange between the computing device and the system. A user may use a computing device to connect to the online design system via a network such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), etc. A user may connect their computing device to the system via any communication channel such as a website portal and application from various internal and / or external websites linked to the manufacturer portal.

[0027] Any desired type of computing device may be used without departing from the present disclosure, such as any computing device capable of establishing a network connection and / or a peer-to-peer connection and capable of providing the necessary display, user interface, and input functions, as described in more detail below. Some more specific examples of computing devices that may be used for systems and methods according to at least some examples of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to: desktop computers, personal computers, laptop computers, palmtop computers, handheld computers, cellular phones, any other mobile device or smartphone, personal digital assistants, computer workstations, televisions, etc.

[0028] A computing device that can be used for the systems and methods of examples according to the present disclosure may include one or more input devices and a data processing system (e.g., including one or more microprocessors). Examples of input devices that may be included in a computing device include, but are not limited to, conventional input devices such as: a keyboard (hard or soft); a mouse, trackball, rollerball, touchpad or other pointing device; a stylus or other pen-type input device (e.g., for a tablet PC type computing device); a disk drive; a USB port; a network connection; a joystick type controller; a phone connection; an Ethernet connection; voice recognition capabilities; etc. Moreover, the computing device may have a "touch screen" capability so that a user can input data into the computing device by physically touching the display screen with the user's finger or a selection device (such as a stylus). In addition, any desired type of display device may be provided for use in conjunction with a computing device according to the systems and methods of various aspects of the present disclosure, including a display device integrated with the computing device itself or a display device that is separate from the computing device but in communication with it, such as a projection display, a separate monitoring display.

[0029] Figure 1A system for designing and manufacturing a footwear upper is shown. A computing device such as design computer 102 may be programmed with software modules that, when executed by at least one processor, perform various functions. The software includes computer executable instructions that may be stored on at least one tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as solid-state or magnetic memory.

[0030] The design computer 102 may be connected to a network (not shown) in any desired manner without departing from aspects of the present disclosure, including conventional means known and used in the art, such as any conventional wired or wireless connection and using any network connection protocol. The system and method according to the examples of the present disclosure will also provide a user interface display on the user computing device. The interface will allow the user to see the subject of the design work and will allow the user to introduce his / her input to the design work. The user interface on each device will be provided and controlled by the user's computing device and / or by the server system, and the data for generating, maintaining and receiving input through the user interface will be generated and provided via a computer-readable medium, which is included as part of or associated with the computing device and / or server system. Examples of such computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: computer-readable memory, integral to the computer (e.g., a hard drive) or separable from the computer (such as a disk, solid-state or flash memory device, data available through a network connection, etc.), including any type of computer-readable medium conventionally known and used in the computer field.

[0031] The color library 111 may contain various color values. Individual color values ​​may be arranged in a database such as a FileMaker Pro database. In one embodiment, the color value has four channels such as CMYK color values. In another embodiment, the color value has three channels such as RGB color values. Individual color values ​​may correspond to the colors of various materials (e.g., yarns) supplied or available to the shoe upper manufacturer. As another example, the variegated color library 110 may be connected to the design computer 102 via the Internet. The variegated color library may contain various variegated patterns that may be formed by one or more knitting machines available to the shoe upper manufacturer. The shoe last library 112 may contain shoe lasts of various shapes and forms. The shoe last library may also store data files corresponding to basic footwear designs. The grading library 113 may contain a collection of previously graded uppers. The collection may identify features of footwear such as structural positions and other attributes and modifications made to the basic design grading to be used for a range of shoe sizes.

[0032] As described in more detail with respect to FIG. 2 , a design website, interface, and / or application as described herein may display various patterns or models that may be used for custom design, for example, in a portion of an interface display. These various different models of a product (footwear) may include templates or “base” models that a user may select as part of the design process. Such “base” models or templates may be added to or changed during the design process based on the user's selections.

[0033] Figure 1 Some of the components shown may transmit data to and from the design computer 102 during a design session. For example, the UI 115 may establish a communication channel with the design computer 102 to provide a user interface to customize or modify a footwear design. As another example, the structural rule component 120 may provide the design computer 102 with data related to one or more structural rules associated with the physical and / or structural integrity required to manufacture a footwear upper and a corresponding basic footwear design. As discussed in more detail, these structural rules may impose certain restrictions on the user's ability to modify certain aspects of a footwear design during a design session in order to maintain the structural integrity of the footwear upper when it is manufactured and used by the wearer. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the structural rules associated with the physical and / or structural integrity required for a footwear upper may vary based on the type of footwear (e.g., running shoes, basketball shoes, soccer shoes, etc.).

[0034] The design computer 102 may include various modules, including a design module 103, for processing various design changes made to a footwear design via a user interface 115. The design module 103 may also present an image of the footwear design based on the processed design changes. The design computer 102 may include a grading module 104 for processing and determining changes that may be applied to the footwear design (e.g., an increase or decrease in footwear size) based on the grading changes. For example, the grading module 104 may extract information associated with a base footwear design and compare the information with data stored in the grading library 113 to present a new base design for a different footwear grading. In some embodiments, the grading module 104 may suggest one or more design changes to the base footwear design in light of the processed grading information.

[0035] The design computer 102 may include a structural evaluation module 105 for processing data to determine whether a design change made to a footwear design via the user interface 115 is acceptable. For example, the structural evaluation module 105 may extract information associated with a base footwear design and compare the information with data from the structural rules component 120 to determine whether the design change complies with predetermined structural rules and / or physical constraints associated with the base footwear design and / or a knitting machine used to manufacture the footwear upper. In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the evaluation module 105 may be in operative communication with a database (or other suitable form of storage device) that stores a plurality of predetermined structural integrity features associated with each of the base footwear designs available for selection by a user.

[0036] The design computer 102 may include a bill of materials module 106 for processing data regarding the availability of various materials that may be used to manufacture a footwear upper 140 according to a footwear design. The design computer 102 may extract information associated with the base footwear design and compare the information to data regarding the current supply or availability of materials 130 to determine whether the requested design changes are acceptable.

[0037] The design computer 102 may also include a cost estimation module 107 for processing data related to the cost of manufacturing the upper 140 based on the shoe design. The design computer 102 may extract information associated with the shoe design and compare the information with data collected and / or stored by the cost estimation module 107 to calculate the cost of manufacturing the shoe upper 140 based on the shoe design and determine whether the cost exceeds any predetermined cost threshold. The cost estimation module 107 may recommend one or more design changes to the shoe design to reduce the estimated cost below the predetermined cost threshold.

[0038] The design computer 102 may also include a time estimation module 108 for processing data related to the amount of time required to manufacture the upper 140 based on the footwear design. The design computer 102 may extract information associated with the footwear design and compare the information with the data collected and / or stored by the time estimation module 108 to calculate the amount of time required to manufacture the footwear upper 140 based on the footwear design and determine whether the time exceeds any predetermined time threshold. The time estimation module 108 may recommend one or more design changes to the footwear design to reduce the estimated manufacturing time to below the predetermined time threshold. In some aspects of the present disclosure, an interface or sub-interface may be displayed to the user during a design session that depicts the amount of time required to manufacture the footwear upper according to the current footwear design. When the user modifies the footwear design, the interface or (or sub-interface) may be updated to reflect the updated amount of time required to manufacture the footwear upper.

[0039] The design computer 102 may also include a plurality of interface units for reading and writing data or files. Exemplary interface units and drivers include a keyboard, a pointing device, a microphone, a pen device, a touch screen or other input devices.

[0040] As mentioned above, Figure 1 Some of the components shown may be connected to each other via a network such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). For example, the color library 111 may be connected to the design computer 102 via the Internet. As another example, the design computer 102 may transmit the knitting instructions to the knitting machine 135 in the form of an encrypted file via the Internet. Figure 1 The illustrated system may include conventional network components (not shown) such as switches, wireless access points, and routers to connect the illustrated components.

[0041] The following will describe in more detail the various features of the user interface generated by the computing device for accepting user input and providing the user with information about the design. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the following detailed description and drawings merely represent examples of potential features, functions, arrangements, orientations of interface components, combinations of interface components, etc. of interface components of the systems, methods, and user interfaces according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0042] Other aspects of the present disclosure relate to a user interface provided on a computing device that allows a user to design an article of footwear (or other consumer product). The user interface may include elements and features that allow use and / or activation of any of the features and / or functions described above and / or any of the features and / or functions described in more detail below.

[0043] As some more specific examples, aspects of the present disclosure relate to a computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions stored thereon for generating a user interface for conducting a footwear design session on a computer-controlled display device. The user interface may include, for example: (a) a first display portion including at least one representation of an article of footwear; (b) one or more selector elements (such as a pointer or cursor) that allow a first user to select a portion of the article of footwear; (c) an indicator that indicates which portion(s) of the article of footwear have been selected by a separate selector element (such as text, icon, picture, animation, etc.); and (d) a first element for causing the appearance of the representation of the article of footwear in the first display portion to change based on input generated by the first user. The first element (or at least some element of the interface) may include: a feature similar to a color palette or color menu that allows a user to change the color of a selected portion of the article of footwear and / or a component of the article of footwear (e.g., a knitted material); one or more orientation elements that allow a user to change the orientation of the article of footwear as presented in the first display portion; one-way, two-way, or multi-way user communication elements or features (such as text input and display panels, instant messaging capabilities, audio and / or video communication capabilities, etc.); etc. The user interface may also include an input portion through which the first user can enter data for establishing a collaborative footwear design session with the second user (or another user).

[0044] In view of this general background and information, more detailed information about specific examples of systems, methods, computer-readable media, and user interfaces according to the present disclosure will be described in more detail below. It should be understood that this more detailed description relates to various specific examples of the present disclosure and their features and functions, and this description should not be understood as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0045] In at least some aspects of the present disclosure, a design session may be initiated or started through a user's online shopping action. Figure 2A An exemplary interface for modifying a footwear design according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. As noted in greater detail below, during the formation of a base footwear design, a user may modify the base footwear design based on a plurality of user selections during the design process, including the formation of certain design features. After the base footwear design is formed and / or selected, the user may customize the footwear design based on a plurality of user selections, including selections of knit structures, materials, and colors that may be applied to the footwear design.

[0046] The initiation of a design session may result in the launch of a customized web page or website or a customized application or software, such as to form a Figure 2AAn exemplary user interface screen 200 is shown. Moreover, initiation of a design session may result in generation (eg, by a server or other computing device that may control the session and transfer data related to the session) of a customized session identification number (eg, a unique "session ID") for the session.

[0047] In some aspects of the present disclosure, user interface 200 may be generated by computing device 102. User interface 200 may be configured to have the same functionality as user interface 115. User interface 200 may include various custom features in any desired arrangement, orientation, or display without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0048] As referenced below Figure 3 As further described in detail, user interface 200 may correspond to and / or simulate the physical layout and operation of knitting machine 135 to provide the user with the impression that they are actually designing and / or manufacturing a footwear upper according to a footwear design. Such a layout is used to reduce the cognitive burden on the user when relating the relationship between the availability and / or supply of material 130, the physical limitations of knitting machine 135 for manufacturing footwear upper 140, and the limitations of design options to maintain the structural integrity of upper 140.

[0049] The software for generating the user interface may reside on a computer-readable medium that is presented to or can be used for a computing device or server system. Alternatively, if desired, the software or at least some (some) parts thereof may reside on more than one computing device or server system. The server system may be operated and maintained by the same organization or individual that operates and maintains the computing device and / or network, or the server system may be operated, controlled and maintained by a party separate from any or all of these entities. As some more specific examples, the server system may be operated and maintained (and the user interface software may also be operated and maintained) by one or more entities (e.g., a manufacturer, a supplier selected by the manufacturer, or a retailer, etc.), and the products of the one or more entities are being sold through the design system and method described below.

[0050] In some aspects of the present disclosure, and as described in more detail below, user interface 200 may include a portion of the product being customized (e.g., portions 201, 202) in which is displayed, a "color palette" portion (e.g., portion 210) for selecting colors for various parts, one or more controls for changing the appearance or view of the product in portion 201 (such as a rotation control, zooming in, zooming out, changing the displayed view, etc.), an "undo" control (to eliminate the last operation or design change), a "redo" control (to redo a previously deleted operation or design change), a cost information panel, and a product design information panel. While the product design information may be provided in any desired manner without departing from aspects of the present disclosure, a product design information panel (not shown) may provide information about various parts of the article of footwear being designed, such as color information, size information, material information, etc.

[0051] A user interface (such as user interface 115 or user interface 200) may display various shoe lasts available when forming a basic shoe design, for example, in a portion of an interface display such as display 201. The various shoe lasts may be retrieved from a shoe last library such as library 112. When a user selects a shoe last, the user interface may provide the user with the option of forming a "basic" shoe design corresponding to the selected shoe last (e.g., the same or similar size, shape, form, etc.). Such a basic shoe design may be edited or modified based on the user's selection during the design process. For example, a user may draw or paint multiple features onto a basic shoe design to depict the "style" of the shoe design. It should be understood that the user interface may provide the user with multiple tools to form and / or modify various features of a basic shoe design. The user may store the formed and / or modified basic shoe design in a memory.

[0052] The user may retrieve predefined base shoe designs from the memory as needed. For example, the base shoe designs may be stored in a data file in the memory of the design computer 102. These base shoe designs may include shoe designs previously created by the user or other users and available for the user to select as a first step in the design process.

[0053] The basic footwear design is used as a blueprint for a knitting machine (such as knitting machine 135) to manufacture a footwear upper. As discussed further below, each basic footwear design may include data defining various structural and / or physical constraints of a corresponding footwear upper (such as upper 140) that may limit a user's design options. Thus, while a user may modify or edit a basic footwear design during the design process, certain design options may be restricted during the design process or must be accepted by the design computer 102 before the design changes take effect. Such design constraints provide a "real world" perspective for a user or designer when making design options that may affect the footwear upper manufacturing process.

[0054] The user interface provides a realistic basis for depicting the limitations of certain design options due to a number of factors, including the physical limitations of a knitting machine. For example, a user may be limited in the amount of detail (e.g., the point size of a digital paintbrush) that can be used when forming or modifying features of a basic footwear design because the user interface may not allow the user to design features that are too small to be knitted by a knitting machine, or features that may be unrealistic given limitations in the manufacturing process (e.g., cost, time, etc.). In one embodiment, each stitch of a knitting pattern may not be displayed as less than one pixel. This "real world" perspective provided by the user interface can create efficiencies and reduce the amount of work required in the footwear upper design and manufacturing process, can result in faster iterations of footwear designs formed by users during the design and manufacturing process, and can enable more accurate samples of footwear designs to be formed during the design and manufacturing process.

[0055] If desired, other features and functionality may be provided in the user interface without departing from the present disclosure. The following features and functionality may be provided in some manner by the interface: the ability to directly restore a previously viewed interface screen; the ability to save a design; the ability to print a design; the ability to store the design in a location for sharing with other interfaces (which may launch an interface that allows identification of a specific person, class of people, or group (public or private) with whom the design may be shared); the ability to "restore a default" design (e.g., restore a blank product on which a customization process is initiated for that product or some other intermediate default design (optionally selected and stored by the user)); and the ability to exit or end a session.

[0056] Another feature that may be included in the computer interface is a "last action" function that allows the user to view the last few steps in a design session (and possibly see a list of all steps in a design session), more details about individual display steps (e.g., more details about color, position, size, material or orientation selection, etc.), etc. The "last action" tool may allow the user to select any desired individual step for further action, such as an "undo" action (to undo that action), a "view" change action (e.g., to cause the interface to highlight the changes made in that step in the user's view), a reselect action (e.g., to cause the interface to reselect the same portion for further action), etc.

[0057] Another potential feature that may be included in the systems, methods, and computer interfaces according to at least some examples of the present disclosure includes a "cost change" icon (although other interface elements may be used to activate this feature). User selection of this interface element may provide the user with information and the opportunity to change various features of the designed shoe to increase or decrease its cost (optionally, the performance is less or not changed, but any expected impact on performance may be displayed for the user to consider). For example, interaction with this interface element may provide the cost associated with a design change in a basic footwear design. As a more specific example, changes in the material and / or material arrangement of a certain (some) part of the upper may make the shoe more comfortable, more stable, and / or otherwise affect the performance characteristics of the shoe. For another example, the interface may advise the user about the cost of adding another design element or feature to the shoe (e.g., changing the knitted structure of the upper, adding additional knitted material types or colors to the upper, etc.) or changing existing design elements or features (e.g., changing the size of each design element, changing the material, etc.). Cost changes associated with eliminating or modifying design elements or features may also be provided. Systems, methods, and computer interfaces according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure may display a list of various options to a user with the cost differences associated therewith, or make this type of cost variation information available to the user in some other manner.

[0058] See again Figure 2A In the illustrated example, user interface 200 includes: a display portion 201 in which a 3D view of a footwear design is presented; a display portion 202 in which a "flat" 2D view of the footwear design is presented; a portion 219 representing one or more knitted structures of the footwear design (e.g., knitted structures 221 to 223); a drop-down list 224 for selecting a knitted structure; a portion 225 representing a "material sample" that displays a texture image representing the knitted structure based on one or more color values ​​selected for the material (e.g., yarn construction) that includes the knitted structure; a grayscale 205 that indicates that various knitted structures correspond to specific "zones" (or areas) on a mapped or rendered image of the base footwear design; and a "color selector" or "palette" portion 210 for selecting colors for various materials and / or knitted structures that may include the footwear design.

[0059] The user interface may also include one or more drop-down lists 211 for selecting various color options (or color values) for the color palette, and a color vector 215 indicating which color options have been assigned to one or more knitted structures of the footwear design. The color palette 210 may identify various colors of knitted materials selected by the user to be incorporated into the footwear design. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the first portion of the color palette 210 corresponding to the menu 211 is green, thereby indicating that green knitted materials will be incorporated into the footwear design. Similarly, the corresponding colors of each portion of the color palette may represent the corresponding colors of the knitted materials used to design and manufacture the footwear article (e.g., portion 212 indicates that light green has been selected; portion 213 indicates that red has been selected; portion 214 indicates that yellow has been selected, etc.).

[0060] The changes of each part of footwear design can be carried out in any desired manner without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the user can first use a pointer to "select" the knitted structure associated with a certain specific area (or region) of the basic footwear design. Once selected, the user can make changes to the knitted structure. For example, in order to change the color of the knitted structure, the user can first move the pointer to the description of the desired part in the display part (for example, drop-down list 211) and "click" the mouse button (or other input device) to "select" the part. This selection operation can cause the interface to display a list of available color options (for example, color values) that can be applied to the knitted structure. Each color option in the list can also have a specific color name or color reference number. In some aspects of the present invention, the system can limit the number of available colors (and / or other design options) that can be applied to the footwear design. In addition or as another option, this selection operation can make the interface highlight the corresponding part of the footwear in some way (such as by enlarging it, dyeing it in different ways or making its outer border bold).

[0061] After a color option has been selected, the user may associate the color option with the knitted structure by drawing a color vector (e.g., color vector 215) from a portion of the color palette (e.g., portion 214) to the knitted structure. One or more color vectors may be drawn from a specific portion of the color palette to one or more knitted structures in a manner permitted by the underlying shoe design without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The user may select a color vector based on the color vectors generated by the structure rule component 120 or the knitted structure. Figure 1 In some aspects of the present disclosure, a specific shoe design can be associated with a specific construction rule based on a manufacturing process to form a footwear article using the shoe design. For example, the construction rule associated with a first shoe design template can be configured to allow the knitted structure to include a predetermined number of colors.

[0062] Another example feature of systems, methods, and computer interfaces according to at least some examples of the present disclosure relates to a "cost" or "pricing" box. This element of the user interface tracks the cost of the article of footwear at its current design state. As one or more features of the shoe are designed or changed, this may cause the cost of the shoe to change to some extent (e.g., if more expensive materials are used, if a lot of customization is required, if additional manufacturing steps or different manufacturing techniques are required, etc.). The interface may maintain a price display so that the user can be aware of which changes in the design cause the price to change, and the user may be able to better control the final price of the product.

[0063] As described above, the various color options available to the user in the color palette 210 may correspond to various materials 130 (e.g., yarn constructions) that may be used to manufacture the footwear upper 140. Thus, the user may select the color options based on the color options provided by the material list module 106, Figure 1 The data provided by other components or another computing device shown is limited in the number and / or type of color options that can be used for a footwear design and / or associated with a specific knit structure.

[0064] The user design selections may also be limited based on the estimated time and / or cost of manufacturing the upper according to the corresponding footwear design. After associating one or more color options with the knitted structure, the material sample 225 may display a texture image of the knitted structure, showing the updated color effects. The user may choose to present the updated 2D view and 3D view of the footwear design during the design session. This may be achieved by selecting a "present" icon (not shown) on the interface 200. In addition or as an alternative, the user interface may automatically update portions 201 and 202 to display the footwear design with the updated color effects and other design changes.

[0065] As another example, a user may choose to change a variegated pattern associated with a knitted structure. The user may choose to select from one or more predefined variegations stored in the variegated library 110, or the user may design a new variegated pattern for a knitted structure. To change the variegated pattern for a knitted structure, the user may move a pointer over the depiction of the desired portion in the displayed portion of the structure and "click" a mouse button (or other input device) to "select" the desired variegated option. This selection operation may cause the interface to display a list of available predetermined variegated options that may be applied to the corresponding knitted structure. The user's ability to form or modify a variegated pattern may be limited by the structural and physical limitations of the available knitting machines used to manufacture footwear articles (or other products).

[0066] As another example, the user may choose to add or modify a knit structure of a footwear design. The user may modify a "zone" of a footwear design associated with a specific knit structure by "selecting" the knit structure using the pointer. Once selected, the user may change the position of the knit structure relative to the grayscale 205 by "dragging" the knit structure along the grayscale 205 to a desired position. FIG. 2B to FIG. 2D As discussed in further detail, each color reference along the grayscale 205 may indicate the location of a different knit structure corresponding to a particular "zone" (or area) on the representation or map of the base footwear design. After the knit structure is placed at a new location along the grayscale 205, the display portion 201 and the display portion 202 of the interface 200 may reflect the changes in the knit structure and the corresponding design attributes.

[0067] The part of the user interface representing knitted structure (e.g., knitted structure 220 to 223) can be positioned in the user interface 200 along grayscale (such as grayscale 205). It should be understood that grayscale can provide color references corresponding to each district on the image of the basic footwear design. For example, as shown in parts 201 and 202, the user interface 200 can depict the presentation image including grayscale mapping of the basic footwear design based on the position of knitted structure 220 to 223 along grayscale 205. As shown in elements 230 to 233, one or more color references on grayscale (e.g., "dark gray", "dark gray", "gray", "light gray", etc.) can correspond to a specific district on the presentation image (or part thereof) of the basic footwear design, and as described in more detail below, the knitted structure can be associated with one or more specific districts on the basic footwear design. Each knitted structure assigned to the district of the basic footwear design can have its own unique pattern, variegated color, color and other characteristics.

[0068] In some aspects of the present disclosure, by positioning the knit structure adjacent to (or aligned with) a specific color reference on the grayscale 205, a zone (or area) of the base footwear design associated with the color reference may adopt the design attributes (e.g., color, hue, etc.) of the knit structure. Figure 2A As shown, the “dark gray” reference of grayscale 205 is positioned toward the leftmost portion of the grayscale. Additionally, various regions of the shoe design may be shown in portions 201 and 202 of user interface 200.

[0069] For example, the dark gray reference of grayscale 205 may be associated with a first knit structure and further indicate (or correspond to) a first area of ​​the footwear design depicted in portion 201. In this example, Figure 2A209, the first area of ​​the footwear design is shown by the dark gray portion of the footwear design. A first knit structure adjacent to (or aligned with) the dark gray reference of grayscale 205 may cause the first area of ​​the footwear design to inherit the features, attributes, and / or characteristics of the first knit structure. Similarly, a second knit structure adjacent to (or aligned with) the dark gray reference of grayscale 205 may cause the first area of ​​the footwear design to inherit the features, attributes, and / or characteristics of the second knit structure.

[0070] As another example, the dark gray reference of grayscale 205 may be associated with a knitted structure and further indicate (or correspond to) Figure 2A The second area of ​​the footwear design depicted by element 208 is shown. Additionally, the gray reference of grayscale 205 may be associated with the knitted structure and further indicate a third area of ​​the footwear design as depicted by element 206; and the light gray reference of grayscale 205 may be associated with the knitted structure and further indicate a fourth area of ​​the footwear design as depicted by element 207.

[0071] FIG. 2B to FIG. 2E Additional exemplary views of 2D and 3D images of basic shoe designs that may appear in user interface 200 are shown. Figure 2B An exemplary presentation of an image showing a "laid flat" 2D view of a basic footwear design is shown. This exemplary 2D view of a basic footwear design (e.g., element 229) may be shown in display portion 202 of user interface 200. It should be appreciated that the laid flat 2D view provides a graphical representation of the knitted material corresponding to the basic footwear design. Figure 2C An exemplary interface screen (e.g., interface screen 239) showing a 3D view of a base shoe design is shown. This exemplary 3D view of a base shoe design may be shown in display portion 201 of user interface 200. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the 3D view of the shoe design may include a color-coded mapping of various regions of the shoe design.

[0072] As described above, a basic footwear design may be represented by various regions that may correspond to different knit structures of the footwear article to be manufactured. Figure 2C The basic shoe design shown includes at least 4 different zones, each zone having specific design attributes and / or features and represented by different colors in the user interface to distinguish the zones. Figure 2C In the example shown, the first region (corresponding to element 233) is represented by red; the second region (corresponding to element 232) is represented by yellow, the third region (corresponding to element 231) is represented by cyan, and the fourth region (corresponding to element 230) is represented by purple. Figure 2C Further shown is a fifth zone (corresponding to element 235) in the base shoe design, shown in blue.

[0073] 2a, knit structure 223 is positioned adjacent to (or aligned with) the dark gray color reference on grayscale 205. In this way, knit structure 223 and its corresponding design attributes (e.g., color, variegation, etc.) can be associated with a corresponding region (e.g., first region) of the base shoe design. In some embodiments, an image or presentation of a shoe design can be dynamically updated to reflect a user design, such as a change in the knit structure of the shoe design.

[0074] Figure 2D A rendered image of a base shoe design is shown that may be displayed in a portion of the user interface 200. The rendered image of the shoe design includes a mapping of the knitted structures (e.g., knitted structures 220-223) displayed in the user interface 200. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the rendering of the shoe design may be dynamically updated to reflect user design changes, such as changes to the knitted structure of the shoe design.

[0075] See now Figure 2C , the first area of ​​the basic footwear design shown in element 233 can be associated with a specific knitted structure and can be presented as a 3D graphical representation of the footwear article, such as Figure 2D When a knit structure, such as knit structure 223, is positioned adjacent to a specific color reference corresponding to the first zone on grayscale 205, the knit structure and its corresponding design attributes may be associated with the first zone of the basic footwear design and may then be presented in a portion of user interface 200. In this specific example, the knit structure to which knit structure 223 corresponds has a first variegated pattern and includes knit materials of various colors and shades, such as yellow and green knit materials, as shown. Figure 2D As shown in element 233, the basic footwear design corresponds to Figure 2C Those parts of the first zone in Figure 2D 223 and the like. In the example shown in FIG. 224 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 225 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 226 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 227 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 228 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 229 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 229 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 229 , a user may associate a second knit structure with a first zone of a footwear design. In the example shown in FIG. 221 ... Figure 2D ) to reflect any changes and / or modifications made to one or more knitted structures.

[0076] See the above example, Figure 2CAs shown, element 232 illustrates the second area of ​​the footwear design and is represented in yellow on the rendered image of the base footwear design. Referring again to FIG. 2a, knitted structure 222 can be positioned adjacent to a specific color reference on grayscale 205 corresponding to the second area of ​​the footwear design (e.g., element 232). Thus, knitted structure 222 and its corresponding design attributes (e.g., color, variegation, etc.) can be associated with the second area of ​​the footwear design. For example, see FIG. 2C and FIG. Figure 2D , the second zone of the base footwear design may be associated with a knit structure 222 taking into account the knit structure arrangement along the grayscale 205 and the grayscale mapping of the zones of the footwear design, as described above with reference to portion 201 of the user interface 200. The knit structure 222 corresponds to a knit structure having a second variegated pattern (e.g., horizontal stripes) and including knit materials of various shades or colors (e.g., yellow, blue, and green knit materials), such as Figure 2D As shown in element 232, the footwear design corresponds to Figure 2C Those portions of the middle second zone may appear to include features associated with the knit structure 222 (eg, a second variegated pattern and various shades of yellow, blue, and green knit material).

[0077] See the above example, Figure 2C As shown, element 231 illustrates the third region of the footwear design and is represented by cyan on the rendered image of the base footwear design. Referring again to FIG. 2a, knitted structure 221 may be positioned adjacent to a specific color reference on grayscale 205 corresponding to the third region of the footwear design (e.g., element 231). Thus, knitted structure 221 and its corresponding design attributes (e.g., color, variegation, etc.) may be associated with the third region of the footwear design. For example, see FIG. 2C and FIG. Figure 2D , the third zone of the basic footwear design may be associated with knit structure 221 taking into account the knit structure arrangement along grayscale 205 and the grayscale mapping of the zones of the footwear design, as described above with reference to section 201. The knit structure corresponding to knit structure 221 has a third variegated pattern and includes knit materials of various shades (e.g., green knit materials), such as Figure 2D As shown in element 231, the footwear design corresponds to Figure 2C Those portions of the middle second zone may appear to include features associated with knit structure 221 (eg, a third variegated pattern and various shades of green knit material).

[0078] Finally, if Figure 2CAs shown, element 230 illustrates a fourth region of the footwear design and is represented in purple on the rendered image of the base footwear design. Referring again to FIG. 2a, knitted structure 220 may be positioned adjacent to a specific color reference on grayscale 205 corresponding to the fourth region of the footwear design (e.g., element 230). Thus, knitted structure 220 and its corresponding design attributes (e.g., color, variegation, etc.) may be associated with the fourth region of the footwear design. For example, see FIG. 2C and FIG. Figure 2D , the fourth zone of the basic footwear design may be associated with knitted structure 220 taking into account the arrangement of the knitted structure along grayscale 205 and the grayscale mapping of the zones of the footwear design, as described above with reference to section 201. Thus, knitted structure 220 and its corresponding design attributes may be associated with the fourth zone of the basic footwear design. In this particular example, the knitted structure to which knitted structure 220 corresponds has a fourth variegated pattern and includes knitted materials of various shades of green and blue, such as Figure 2D As shown in element 230, the basic footwear design corresponds to Figure 2C Those portions of the middle fourth zone may appear to include features associated with knit structure 220 (eg, a fourth variegated pattern and composed of various shades of green and blue knit material).

[0079] Figure 2E An exemplary interface screen 259 is shown, which displays a 3D graphical representation of a basic footwear design in portion 257 of the interface screen. The 3D graphical representation of the basic footwear design includes color and texture mapping of various zones of the basic footwear design based on design attributes (e.g., color, variegation, etc.) of a plurality of corresponding knitted structures. In the illustrated example, the basic footwear design includes at least 7 zones, each zone represented by a knitted structure having a different design attribute, as shown in elements 250 to 257. A user may interact with the interface screen 259 to modify the design attributes of one or more knitted structures (corresponding to elements 250 to 257) including the basic footwear design. In some aspects of the present disclosure, a user may modify the design features of one or more zones of the basic footwear design by modifying the position of the knitted structure in portion 258 of the interface screen 259. When a user changes the position of one or more knitted structures in portion 258 of the interface screen, the presented design attributes of the various zones of the basic footwear design shown in portion 250 of the interface screen may be updated to reflect the change in the design attributes. It should be understood that the position of the knitted structure need not be referenced to grayscale, but may be referenced to various other measurements or locations within a portion of the interface screen that may be indicative of one or more zones (or areas) of a footwear design (or associated with said one or more zones).

[0080] Figure 2FA user interface 260 is shown for selecting individual color values ​​(e.g., color options) to assign to a knitted structure. As described above, one or more color values ​​may be assigned to a specific knitted structure that may be associated with a region of a footwear design. Figure 2F As shown, a first color (corresponding to element 261) and a second color (corresponding to element 262) have been assigned to the knitted structure. The first color and the second color may correspond to RGB, CMYK or other suitable color values, respectively. A display portion 263 of the user interface shows a graphical representation of an image representing the selected knitted structure and its corresponding design attributes (including color and variegation). When the user modifies the first color value and the second color value of the knitted structure, the display portion 263 of the interface screen may be dynamically updated to reflect the change (and / or the received user input).

[0081] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the user interface may provide a tool for the user to generate a color selection containing multiple colors. For example, see Figure 2F , a new color that can be assigned to the knitted structure can be generated by combining the secondary colors 265 and 266. Subsequently, the display portion 263 of the user interface presents a new image representing the selected knitted structure and its corresponding design attributes (including the new color value).

[0082] If desired, other features and functionality may be provided in the interface without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following features and functionality may be provided in some manner by the interface: the ability to save a design, the ability to print a design, the ability to store the design at a location for sharing with other locations (which may launch an interface that allows identification of a specific person, class of people, or group (public or private) with whom the design may be shared), the ability to "restore a default" design (e.g., restore a blank product on which a customization process is initiated for that product or some other intermediate default design (optionally selected and stored by the user)), and the ability to exit or end a design session.

[0083] Figure 3 An exemplary interface for modifying a footwear image according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.As described above, user design choices may be limited based on a number of factors including construction rules, manufacturing costs, manufacturing time, and material availability or supply.

[0084] The user interface 300 includes a knitting machine image 335, a color reference palette 310, one or more color vectors (e.g., vector 315), an interface portion representing a knitted structure (e.g., knitted structure 320), and a display portion 301 showing a rendering of a shoe design. The user interface 300 may display an animation showing various design choices made by a user during the design process. It should be understood that the components of the user interface 300 may include the same or similar features and functionality of corresponding components in the interface 200. For example, the color reference palette 310 may include the same or similar features and / or functionality as the color palette 210. For example, although Figure 3 311 may include a drop-down menu to provide a list of available color values. By selecting or hovering a pointer (e.g., a mouse pointer) over an interface component such as color reference 311 or knitted structure 320, user interface 300 may display additional information associated with the component.

[0085] As another example, knitted structure 320 may include the same or similar features and / or functions as knitted structure 220. Figure 3 320 may include a display of a texture image (e.g., a material sample) associated with the knitted structure, or may include an icon that allows a user to modify the variegated color associated with the knitted structure. Similar to the user interface 200, a user may draw a color vector 315 in the user interface 300 to associate (or assign) a color value to a specific knitted structure. After drawing or modifying the color vector, the user interface 300 may graphically illustrate the material (e.g., yarn from one or more spools associated with the selected color value) arranged in one or more portions of the knitting machine image 335, as shown by element 336.

[0086] As another example, display portion 301 may include the same or similar features and functions of display portion 201 and display portion 202. Display portion 301 may show a graphical representation (or rendering) of a footwear upper according to a user's footwear design.

[0087] Knitting machine image 335 in user interface 300 may serve as a graphical representation of a knitting machine (e.g., knitting machine 135) used to manufacture a footwear upper (e.g., upper 140). Materials, such as material 130, used by knitting machine 135 to manufacture footwear upper 140 may be graphically represented in knitting machine image 335. For example, as shown in element 310, each color or color reference selected by the user may be graphically represented in knitting machine image 335 by one or more spools of yarn (or some other material).

[0088] As the user selects and / or modifies various design selections, these selections may be reflected (e.g., graphically represented or simulated) in the knitting machine image 335. For example, a change to the color value of the color reference 310 may be reflected in the knitting machine image 335 by changing the color of the yarn of one or more spools to correspond to the new color value. As another example, the number of colors available for a particular shoe design may be graphically represented by the number of spools in the knitting machine image 335. In this example, an empty spool may represent an undefined or available color reference that may be added to the color palette.

[0089] It should be understood that the user's design choices may be limited based on limitations associated with footwear design (such as material availability, structural rules, and physical limitations of the knitting machine). For example, due to the limited supply of certain materials used to make footwear uppers, the number of color options available to the user corresponding to the availability or supply of those materials (e.g., yarn) is also limited. Therefore, when the user selects color reference 311, a list of color options corresponding to the current supply of materials may be provided to the user. For another example, due to the structural or physical limitations of the knitting machine, the user may be limited in the number of color options that can be assigned to a specific knitted structure. For example, if a knitting machine such as knitting machine 135 has a predetermined number of "feeders", the user may be limited in the number of color combinations or the number of colors that can be assigned to the knitted structure based on the number of feeders in the knitting machine.

[0090] Figure 4 A method of designing footwear according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 The steps shown in can be used with a system such as Figure 1 4. The system shown in FIG. 4 may be performed. First, in step 402, a data file corresponding to a base shoe design may be received by the system. The data file may identify various visual attributes and physical attributes (e.g., features) associated with the base shoe design. In some embodiments, a user may select a base shoe design from a plurality of base shoe designs stored by the system. Next, in step 404, the system may retrieve one or more design features associated with the shoe design received in step 402. The design features of the shoe design may be retrieved from various resources such as a grading library 113, a shoe last library 112, a color library 111, etc. In some embodiments, the base shoe design may be edited or modified by the user. The system may store the edited shoe design in a memory.

[0091] Next, the system may receive design input to assign one or more knit structures to a footwear design in step 406. A user may identify one or more knit structures to be associated with (e.g., mapped to) a specific zone (region) of a footwear design via a user interface (e.g., UI 115). The knit structures include design attributes representing various materials (e.g., yarn constructions) that provide texture and other visually perceptible attributes associated with the footwear design.

[0092] Next, in step 408, the system may receive design input that adjusts one or more design attributes of one or more knitted structures assigned to the footwear design in step 406. In some embodiments, in step 408, color values ​​and variegated patterns may be retrieved from a color library and a variegated library, respectively. Color values ​​and variegated colors may be assigned to one or more knitted structures assigned to the footwear design in step 406. In step 410, the system may determine whether the design input received in step 408 is acceptable. In step 410, the system may extract various data associated with the footwear design and compare the data with information collected and / or stored by the system (e.g., structure assessment module 105, bill of materials module 106, cost estimation module 107, time estimation module 108, etc.). For example, the system may determine whether various knitted materials selected for the footwear design are currently available in inventory. In this example, the system may compare data indicating the knitted structures and materials selected for the footwear design with data stored in the bill of materials module 106 to make a determination. As another example, the system may determine whether the design change and the associated knitted structure selected for the footwear design are consistent with the structural rules (and / or features) assigned to the footwear design. In this example, the system may compare the data indicating the knitted structure of the footwear design with the data stored in the structural evaluation module 105 to make the determination. As another example, the system may determine whether the design change of the footwear design (e.g., a change in footwear size) is consistent with the grading rules (and / or features) assigned to the footwear design. In this example, the system may compare the data indicating the modification of the footwear design (and / or the knitted structure therein) with the data stored in the grading module 104 to make the determination.

[0093] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the system may use a similarity metric when comparing the footwear design data to data stored by the system (e.g., structure assessment module 105, bill of materials module 106, cost estimation module 107, time estimation module 108, etc.) in step 410. If the footwear design data is insufficient to meet the requirements and / or characteristics associated with the data stored by the system, the system may determine that the design change is not acceptable (e.g., the article of footwear cannot be manufactured based on the current footwear design).

[0094] If the system determines that the design changes analyzed in step 410 are unacceptable, the method may proceed to step 412, in which the system may prompt the user to correct or modify the unacceptable design changes. In some embodiments, the system may identify the specific design changes that are unacceptable and provide the user with additional information about the design changes. In other embodiments, the data stored by the system (e.g., data stored in the structure assessment module 105, the bill of materials module 106, the cost estimation module 107, the time estimation module 108, etc.) may be further processed by the system to recommend and / or suggest one or more design changes to the footwear design so that the footwear design can subsequently be accepted by the system. Next, the method returns to step 408, in which the system may receive design input to adjust one or more design attributes assigned to one or more knitted structures of the footwear design.

[0095] If the system determines that the design changes analyzed in step 410 are acceptable, the method may proceed to step 414 where the system may apply the design input received in step 408 to the footwear design.

[0096] Finally, in step 416, the system may render an image of the footwear design. The rendered image may include simulated knitted textures and colors according to various design features and attributes of the footwear design. In some embodiments, step 416 may be performed by an image editing application, and the process may be script controlled. In other embodiments, steps 414 and 416 may be combined or performed simultaneously. The image rendering step may utilize a variety of existing conventional image processing tools.

[0097] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific examples (including currently preferred modes for performing various aspects of the present disclosure), those skilled in the art will appreciate that various variations and permutations of the systems and techniques described above may be made without departing from the present disclosure. For example, the systems, methods, and / or user interfaces may include more, fewer, and / or different functionality than those described above, and various features of the systems, methods, and / or user interfaces may be activated or interacted with in various ways that are different from those described above (e.g., using different types of interface elements). Moreover, the various process steps may be varied, varied in sequence, some may be omitted, and / or additional steps or features may be included without departing from the present disclosure. Various changes and modifications may be made to the systems, methods, and user interfaces without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: acquiring, by a first computing device, a data file containing data for a knitted footwear design; determining, by a first computing device, a plurality of regions of the knitted footwear design; acquiring, by a first computing device, input data assigning one or more knit structures to one or more regions of the knitted footwear design; based on determining that assignment of the one or more knit structures to one or more areas of the knitted footwear design does not satisfy a structural integrity characteristic associated with the knitted footwear design, recommending one or more modifications to the assignment of the one or more knit structures to cause the knitted footwear design to comply with the structural integrity characteristic; generating a rendering of the knitted footwear design based on the input data; as well as providing, by the first computing device, to one or more other computing devices, manufacturing instructions created based at least on the knitted footwear design, Wherein, one or more other computing devices control one or more knitting machines to manufacture knitted footwear products based on the manufacturing instructions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The data file includes at least one of visual attributes and physical attributes associated with the knitted footwear design.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: The assignment of the one or more knit structures is verified, by a first computing device, and based on physical properties associated with the knit footwear design.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: A number of available design options for the knitted footwear design is determined based on physical properties associated with the knitted footwear design.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The data file includes a plurality of structural integrity features associated with the knitted footwear design.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: The assignment of the one or more knit structures is verified, by a first computing device, based on one or more of a plurality of structural integrity features associated with the knit footwear design.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: Verifying the assignment of the one or more knitted structures further comprises: determining an area of ​​the knitted footwear design associated with the assignment of the one or more knitted structures; and The knit structure information of an area of ​​the knitted footwear design is compared, via a first computing device, with at least a first structural integrity characteristic associated with the knitted footwear design, the area of ​​the knitted footwear design being associated with an assignment of the one or more knit structures.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: One or more design features associated with the knitted footwear design are obtained, at least in part, from a data file by a first computing device, wherein the one or more design features include at least one of grading information, last information, or color information.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Design attributes of a first knit structure of the one or more knit structures are assigned to corresponding regions of the knitted footwear design.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Recommending one or more modifications to the distribution of the one or more knitted structures further comprises: Determine the availability of one or more materials for use in manufacturing knitted footwear; and A determination is made whether one or more modifications to the allocation of the one or more knit structures are acceptable based on the availability.

11. A method of producing a knitted footwear upper, comprising: receiving, by a computing device, input data indicative of a selection of a knitted footwear upper design; generating, via a first interface, an appearance of the knitted footwear upper design; receiving design input of a plurality of knit structures associated with a selected knitted footwear upper design; For each knit structure in the plurality of knit structures: determining an area of ​​a selected knitted footwear upper design associated with the knitted structure; as well as applying a plurality of design features associated with the knitted structure to corresponding areas of a selected knitted footwear upper design; visually updating the appearance of the knitted footwear upper design based on the received design input and the applied design features; The knitting instructions created based on the selected knitted footwear upper design and the applied design features are sent to one or more other computing devices that control one or more knitting machines to manufacture the knitted footwear upper.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: Based on the positions of the plurality of knitted structures in the first interface, an appearance of the knitted footwear upper design is modified.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: One or more physical integrity characteristics of the selected knitted footwear upper design are determined based on a type of footwear associated with the knitted footwear upper design.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: Based on determining that the received design input does not satisfy one or more physical integrity characteristics associated with the selected knitted footwear upper design, one or more design modifications are recommended to cause the selected knitted footwear upper design to comply with the one or more physical integrity characteristics.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: generating manufacturing data created based on the knitted footwear upper design to one or more other computing devices, Wherein, one or more other computing devices control one or more knitting machines to manufacture a knitted footwear upper based on the manufacturing data.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Determine the estimated manufacturing time for the selected knitted footwear upper design; and One or more design modifications are recommended, by the computing device, based on the estimated time to bring the selected knitted footwear upper design into compliance with the threshold time value.

17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining the estimated manufacturing cost of the selected knitted footwear upper design; and One or more design modifications are recommended, by the computing device, based on the estimated cost to bring the selected knitted footwear upper design into compliance with the threshold cost value.

18. A method comprising: receiving input data indicative of a selection of a design for a footwear upper (140); generating, by the processor, in an interface (200), a graphical representation of the footwear upper; receiving a design input for the footwear upper, including identifying a last associated with a selected design, determining that the received design input does not satisfy at least one structural integrity feature associated with the selected design; limiting the number of available design choices based on at least one structural integrity characteristic associated with the selected design; as well as An appearance of the footwear upper is visually updated based on the received design input.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: One or more design modifications are generated, the design modifications configured to cause the selected design to comply with at least one structural integrity characteristic.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The footwear upper is a knitted footwear upper, and receiving design input for the knitted footwear upper further comprises: Design input is received that assigns a first knit structure to the selected design.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: Receiving design input for knitted footwear uppers also includes: Design input is received that modifies a variegated pattern associated with the first knit structure.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: A plurality of design features associated with the first knit structure are applied to a first area of ​​the selected design.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: moving the first knit structure from a first position in the first interface to a second position in the first interface; and In response to the moving, a plurality of design features associated with the first knit structure are applied to a second area of ​​the selected design.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein: A second position in the first interface is associated with a grayscale configured to map the knit structure to respective areas of the selected design.

25. The method of claim 18, further comprising: An estimated amount of time to manufacture a footwear upper based on the selected design is displayed in the sub-interface.

26. The method of claim 18, further comprising: A user interface display is provided on a computing device of the user, the user interface being configured to display a design of a footwear upper to the user and to allow the user to provide input regarding the design for the footwear upper.

27. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The footwear upper is a knitted footwear upper.

28. A system operable by a user to design and produce a knitted footwear upper, the system comprising: a user interface (115, 200, 300) comprising a user interface display (201, 239, 259) operable to generate and visually update the appearance of the knitted footwear upper as the user configures it; one or more input devices operable to provide design input for a plurality of knit structures associated with the knit upper design; one or more programmable knitting machines (135) operable to receive knitting instructions and knit a footwear upper configured in accordance with the received knitting instructions; A computing device operable to guide, limit and inform a user in the process of configuring a footwear upper, performing the following steps: For each knit structure in the plurality of knit structures: determining areas of the knitted footwear upper design associated with the knitted structure; and applying a plurality of design features associated with the knitted structure to corresponding areas of a knitted footwear upper design; and Knitting instructions corresponding to the configuration of the knitted footwear upper and the knitted footwear upper design are transmitted.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein: The user interface (115, 200, 300) modifies the appearance of the knitted footwear upper design based on the position of the plurality of knitted structures in the user interface (115, 200, 300).

30. The system of claim 28, further comprising a structural rule component (120) operable to provide data related to one or more physical integrity characteristics associated with the footwear upper to be manufactured, and in, The computing device is further operable to: One or more physical integrity characteristics of the knitted footwear upper design are determined based on a type of footwear associated with the knitted footwear upper design.

31. The system of claim 30, further comprising a structural rule component (105) operable to determine whether a design variation complies with physical integrity characteristics associated with a knitted footwear upper design, and in, The structural regularity component is further operable to: Based on determining that the design input does not satisfy one or more physical integrity characteristics associated with the knitted upper design, one or more design changes are recommended to cause the knitted footwear upper design to comply with the one or more physical integrity characteristics.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein: A portion of the user interface (115, 200, 300) includes a graphical representation of a knitting machine (335).

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