Bachelors of Science in Industrial Design

Fashion

Lifestyle

Outdoor

Skate

Snow

Streetwear

Surf

Health & Fitness

Over the last two decades, Bryon has worked in footwear design and development, creative direction, team leadership, and brand strategy with some of the most iconic and innovative brands, including Nike, Diesel and DC Shoes. He also founded his own design shop, Ursa Major Design and was the driving force behind the launch of MOBS Shoes. He has a passion for creating beautifully crafted shoes through creative vision, consumer driven insights, effective brand strategy and a deep understanding of manufacturing methods. “Design is more about people and process, the end result being a product.” Born into a working-class family in Ohio that valued the do-it-yourself mentality, making things became a part of his being. “I never had a grand plan regarding a career. I just stuck with the things I liked and trusted that it would lead somewhere.” A skateboarder in his youth, Bryon also engaged with punk and new wave counter-culture, which gave him the inspiration and confidence to be creative. 

- Partner with leadership team to create brand mission, vision, position and identity.
- Led team to develop a consumer target and sales strategy based on market opportunities and brand vision.
- Drove the process to develop seasonal creative directions based on shared vision, resulting in CMG palettes.
- Design and develop new footwear creation for all collections, including lasts, tooling and patterns.
- Build and implement the product creation calendar based on business specific and factory partner needs.
- Identify efficiencies in all aspects of business planning to maximize opportunities and reduce operational costs.
- Build and implement multiple iterations of website and ecommerce store.
- Establish short and long term goals for SEO strategy and execution.
- Manage external PR team to create brand awareness through influencer marketing, editorial and events.
- Set up and manage social media marketing tools.
- Manage external agency to develop seasonal content creation for website, social and digital ads.
- Create and manage digital advertising strategy.

Head of Footwear Design

- Consulting agency for product innovation, design, development, sourcing, market analysis and trend research.
- Established and developed a diverse client list including Chaco, MOBS, Spenco and Ccilu.

Founder

- Re-defined the DC brand identity based on authenticity and innovation in the action sports market.
- Led the leadership team to identify and develop market opportunities and strategy.
- Drove collaboration between footwear, apparel and marketing to create a consistent and shared vision.
- Developed rich seasonal stories through the lens of action sports to connect with the DC customer.
- Presented seasonal creative direction and product collections to key stake holders and regional partners.
- Created and implemented new tools to enable product creation team efficiency and accountability.
- Managed and supported a team of ten footwear, color and material designers.
- Led product, color and material design reviews through effective process management.
- Created and implemented a consumer aligned product category and business strategy.
- Developed and executed an authentic skateboard innovation strategy.
- Launched a new action sports training category informed by moto-cross athletes.
- Launched a new seasonal boot category informed by snowboard athletes.
- Managed snowboard boot design resources for multiple seasons.
- Collaborated with development to consolidate factory base, improve overall quality and increase margin.
- Implemented a regional demand tool to maximize global market opportunities and support regional partners.
- Acted as an ambassador and spokesperson for DC Shoes in the media community.
- Worked with triad teams and individual designers to facilitate best practices.
- Developed talent, teamwork and diversity through individual goal setting, coaching and annual reviews.

Global Design Director

- Defined a new vision, mission and position for NSW and the Metro Sport style choice.
- Collaborated with the leadership triad to identify and develop market opportunities and business strategy.
- Developed seasonal stories through the lens of sport culture to connect with the sportswear consumer.
- Presented seasonal creative direction and product collections to key stake holders and regional partners.
- Collaborated with apparel teams to deliver cohesive head to toe collections.
- Managed and supported a team of five footwear, color and material designers.
- Developed consumer relevant innovation, i.e. "Vactech", sustainability and seasonality.
- Scheduled and conducted product, color and material design reviews through effective process management.
- Led and inspired design community engagement through key design team interactions.
- Developed talent, teamwork and diversity through individual goal setting, coaching and annual reviews.

Global Design Director - NSW Footwear

- Sales volume from $85M in 2004 to $500M in 2008.
- Designed and developed fully integrated premium footwear collections embodying innovation, sport and style.
- Drove key product initiatives requiring higher levels of technical knowledge and craftsmanship.
- Led the NSW footwear team to deliver a cross-category collection to celebrate the world of dance.
- Worked with a multi-category leadership team to re-launch "Zoom Air".
- Remotely engaged and mentored design staff based in Europe.
- Selected for a six-week design immersion program, working at Nike HQ in Hilversum, Netherlands.
- Drove the process change to integrate color and material design into the design team.
- Awarded 2006 Nike Shoe Dog award for "Best Sport Culture Shoe".
- Represented Nike in the media community.
- Mentored young designers.

Senior Designer

- Designed brand relevant footwear to dominate the women's sportswear market.
- Collaborated with the design team to develop seasonal stories to inform color, material and graphic direction.
- Presented seasonal designs at concept debut to senior and executive management teams.
- Networked within the greater Nike community to advance brand and product knowledge.
- Engaged with senior design talent in innovation kitchen to advance knowledge of product innovation.
- Travelled key markets in Paris, London and Stockholm to gain unique regional specific consumer insights.

Designer II

March 2003 - March 2004
- Designed and developed footwear collections for Kenneth Cole Reaction based on seasonal trends.
- Established factory sources in China to diversify factory base and expand footwear production capacity.

Director of Design and Development

- Sales volume grew from $15M in 1999 to $285M in 2003.
- Designed footwear in a diverse range of constructions and categories.
- Created seasonal footwear collections under the direction of the Global Creative Director in Italy.
- Collaborated with the Italy based apparel design team to build cohesive seasonal collections.
- Traveled Europe extensively for seasonal trend inspiration, consumer insights and market research.
- Managed extensive product collections from concept to production.
- Created line plans based on historical sales data, brand direction and seasonal trends.
- Designed and developed footwear in Italy, Spain, Taiwan and China.
- Produced seasonal fashion shows including styling and casting.
- Awarded 2002 FHM Men's footwear Brand of the Year.
- Awarded 2001 PLUS award in Men's Streetwear category.

Designer

- Worked with sponsored athletes to gain consumer insights and define innovation (Teva).
- Developed multiple patented webbing systems for technical sandals (Teva).
- Designed seasonal collections of sandals, including foot-beds, outsoles, uppers and webbing (Teva).
- Designed brand relevant footwear to expand product assortment in the skate and lifestyle market (Simple).
- Researched and developed seasonal color, material and graphic palettes.
- Expanded product manufacturing knowledge by working with multiple factories in China.

Designer - Teva & Simple

Find out detailed information about Bryon Schroeder,  in Manhattan Beach, CA

Bryon Schroeder: in Manhattan Beach, CA

Bryon Schroeder

UCLA

University of Cincinnati DAAP