How we design the Armis 3.0 football gloves?

The creation of the ARMIS 3.0

Usually when we go out looking for any kind of sport item, we hardly even think about how it got to be created. We think about its utility in our everyday lifestyle, and we decide if we like it or not depending on the reviews that we have of the product or how we want to use it.

However, the football gloves that you see on the racks take roughly a year to create before seeing the light of the day. Knowing that now, let us guide you through how the ARMIS 3.0 were born.

The processus of creation

Being in the glove industry for almost 6 years now, two generations of ARMIS football glove already existed on the market. We knew at that time that our products were good, but with our expertise, we also knew that we could come up with an even better generation of gloves, and here was born the idea of the ARMIS 3.0.

So where do we start? What are the adjustments that are needed to be made to the old versions? What do we keep? What do we remove? Many questions are to be answer at that phase of creation. We got to answer all of them by using the Design Thinking method developed by Sandford University.

What is the Design Thinking method?

The Design Thinking method fragment a project in 6 different phases: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test and assess.

Phase 1 – Empathize

The first phase is meant to collect as many information as possible from the customers. It is completely non-judgmental. We got 10 different athletes from the NFL, a civile flag football league and from university to be part of a focus group that had to answer few google forms on the subject. We wanted to know what they liked and disliked about the old generations and what they were suggesting for improvements.

Phase 2 – Define

After collecting everything from the google forms and the meeting with the focus group we move on to the second phase of the project, the definition. We defined the challenges and what would be the important aspect on which we wanted to work on. This is where we combine what we got from the focus group and our own personal ideas.

Phase 3 – Ideate

Once the definition is complete, it is now time to ideate the project. This is the brainstorming phase where we got to discuss the pros and cons of every idea that got evoked in the two other phases.

Phase 4 & 5 – Prototype, test

The next step is the prototype phase with the creation of design and patterns. Once a tangible glove is out, we are now able to submit it to many tests to look for any other possible improvements. At that point, we used the same focus group that got consulted previously, who got to criticize once again the glove to make sure we come up with the best we can find on the market. This is where we discuss about all the technicalities, the comfort, the feeling, the fit, the grip… Once we are satisfied with the prototype, this is when we get to phase 6, to assess.

This whole operation was done three times to get to the final product, our ARMIS 3.0.

What is new with the ARMIS 3.0

Now what is new with the new generation compared to the old ones? Three major elements that had to be considered and improved with our new generation.

Breathable glove

People asked for a more breathable glove that will give a better hand ventilation. This is why we have a new more elastic textile for the top of the glove with little holes in it.

Better fit

People asked for a better fit so that the gloves look more like a second skin on your hand. A tighter fit has been designed while using the textile to help for a better hand movement. The goal is to forget that you are wearing anything at all.

Better grip

A better and more resistant grip was strongly recommended and asked. The inside palm grip has been extended down to the wrist while we changed the pattern of the grip on the thumb to help for more technical catches.

The production of the glove

While the glove is being recreated is 3D, we can start the last step of the project: the production of the gloves. Once the prototype exists and is approved, we send it to our manufacturer with whom we have been working in the past years. It usually takes about 2 months once again before everything is done to ship.

Finally, for the gloves to be certified to be use in the NFL and the NCAA, they need to receive the FIA certification that will test them regarding the stickiness of the grip. Coefficient of friction tests are done on any gloves that you see in the NFL to make sure people are following the rules due to violation of them in the past. All our our gloves got the certification.

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