Harding graduate and successful shoe and graphic designer Chris Dixon spoke in the Heritage Auditorium Nov. 26 to graphic design students and to the public. He took the audience through the timeline of his life from his days at Harding to the present, complete with a slideshow of his past work as well as a sneak peek at his current projects.
Dixon began his speech with a formula of “hard work divided by sacrifice equals success.” This formula, combined with his interest in shoes and shoe design, led Dixon to a job designing for professional tennis player Serena Williams.
The next few years were full of both successes and failures in his shoe designing career. Dixon won several competitions, which increased his networking and improved his reputation in the graphic design community. Among several victories, Dixon won the Future Sole Jordan Competition in 2010. Dixon said as a child he enjoyed sketching basketball shoes and continued that interest his entire life, which ultimately led him to the top.
“I was at my lowest low,” Dixon said. “I was working at the furniture store and did not know where my next dollar would come from … I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. And this is the outcome. I kept winning.”
Students interested in graphic design learned about real-life experiences in the field of shoe design and advice for achieving success. Graphic design major Tatiana Barrantes said she valued the opportunity to hear Dixon speak and plans to incorporate his advice into her future with graphic design.
“As a graphic design student, hearing his lecture made me want to work harder,” Barrantes said. “Hearing him talk about his accomplishments made me feel confident that no matter what school you go to or where you are from, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to as long as you put God first.”
Dixon’s success with athletic shoes launched a passion for designing women’s fashion shoes. He created a unique high heel design that included two heels while incorporating the comfort of a tennis shoe. Dixon began designing under the name Christopher Cox and is branching out into the fashion world as a successful and innovative designer.
“If it could happen to me, it can happen to anyone that has a dream,” Dixon said. “If you want it badly enough, you sacrifice some things that might not contribute to your future. So sometimes you have to balance what is going to help you get where you want to be.”
