New Nike book is an inspirational handbook for the next generation of creatives and athletes
New Nike book, ‘After all, there is No Finish Line’, features eye-catching black-and-white imagery and speculative fiction and essays that ponder design, innovation and sport

With 50 years now securely tucked under its belt, Nike has distilled the tenets of its design vision into a new book, After All, There Is No Finish Line, a title that poetically riffs on one of its early straplines from 1977. The red paperback, about the size of any ubiquitous novel, is conceived as an inspirational handbook for the next generation of athletes and creative thinkers and designed to be well-thumbed. Filled with eye-catching black-and-white imagery and a selection of speculative fiction and essays intended to provoke multi-layered conversations about how design and innovation will determine the course of the next 50 years, this future-focused compilation invites everyone to imagine the infinite possibilities of design and sport.
In the book’s foreword, Nike’s chief design officer John Hoke writes, ‘It’s been said that the best way to predict the future is to create it. At Nike, we wholeheartedly agree. For over 50 years, we’ve endeavoured to create a better future for athletes. This compels us forward, always. When we say, ‘There is no finish line,’ it’s not a lazy reference to an unending grind or destination-less journey, but rather an expression of our belief in the limitless potential of sport – and design.’
Designed by Zak Group with custom illustrations by Bráulio Amado and synthesised imagery by PWR, the book fluidly combines text, collages of found imagery and graphics in a rich, visual manner. Sam Grawe, the author of Nike: Better is Temporary, has contributed five essays outlining the major shifts that design may undergo in the coming decades. To do so, Grawe interviewed over a dozen of Nike’s designers, scientists, engineers, researchers and leaders, thus providing readers with a rare, comprehensive peek into the multifaceted hive brain that drives Nike. As a result, the book inadvertently charts the company’s modus operandi, works in progress and hypotheses on its trajectory – encompassing the data-driven goings-on at the Lebron James Innovation Centre, the 750,000 sq ft innovation hub designed by Olson Kundig, and its boundary-pushing goals on the sustainability and materials front.
In another excerpt of Hoke’s foreword, he writes, ‘Nike’s creative telescope to the future rests on three steadfast and guiding truths: we exist to match our athletes’ dreams and ambitions; the progression of sport requires audacious imagination; and one innovation can ultimately benefit millions. With these truths in sight, we remain fixed on amplifying athletic ability, advancing human potential and inviting everyone - and importantly, every body, to experience sport for themselves.’
‘No Finish Line’ is published by Actual Source and retails for $26. It will be available from 14 February 2023
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
How was Carlo Ratti’s ‘Intelligens’? Wallpaper* editors discuss the 19th Venice Biennale
Having visited ‘Intelligens’, the 19th Venice Biennale's main show by curator Carlo Ratti, the Wallpaper* editors discuss what they saw at the world's biggest global architecture festival
-
Remembering Koyo Kouoh, the Cameroonian curator due to lead the 2026 Venice Biennale
Kouoh, who died this week aged 57, was passionate about the furtherance of African art and artists, and also contributed to international shows, being named the first African woman to curate the Venice Biennale
-
Huma Bhabha and Alberto Giacometti share an emotional connection in dialogue at the Barbican
The Barbican's new series, Encounters, sees Alberto Giacometti's work paired with a series of artists
-
The making of PAN and Nike’s euphoric, club-inspired collaboration at Milan Design Week
Alongside a new Air Max 180 release, ‘The Suspended Hour’ display sees Berlin record label PAN imagine the unfolding of a club night, from dusk until dawn
-
Masters of midcentury modern design and their creations spotlighted in new book
‘Mid-Century Modern Designers’ is a new book from Phaidon celebrating those who shaped the period and their notable creations, from furniture to objects
-
Rooms with a view: a new book celebrates the Italian approach to interior design
Laura May Todd's survey of Italian interiors is the perfect antidote to January gloom, taking a look inside 50 distinctive Italian homes
-
Discover the alchemy of American artists Philip and Kelvin LaVerne
The work of Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, prized by collectors of 20th-century American art, is the subject of a new book by gallerist Evan Lobel; he tells us more
-
20 pairs of bookends celebrate contemporary Scottish design and Dundee’s literary heritage
As Dundee Design Week gets ready for its fifth edition, a bookish commission shines a light on two pioneering female journalists from the city’s storied past
-
‘Nike: Form Follows Motion’ surveys 50 years of the Swoosh’s era-defining design
‘Nike: Form Follows Motion’ at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, curated by Glenn Adamson, is the first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to the sportswear giant
-
‘You’ve got to hang out with Judd furniture… you learn something’: Rainer Judd
As new book ‘Donald Judd Furniture’ lands, the artist’s children Rainer and Flavin discuss their father’s legacy
-
Discover London’s lesser-known design gems with ‘an opinionated guide’
‘An opinionated guide to Design London’ by Sujata Burman and Wallpaper’s Rosa Bertoli is a carefully curated tour of intriguing design spots across the capital