Artist and Designer Andrew Footit’s Colorful Loop Earplug Collaboration

A terrazzo-like pattern in vibrant primary colors accents these limited edition items

Belgian lifestyle brand Loop understands that those of us attending concerts and live, immersive events need decibel protection to safely participate in peak cultural moments—but we often don’t want to make aesthetic compromises. It’s with this in mind that the pioneering earplug producer designed their sleek, highly effective Experience collection—which offers filtered noise reduction and ear protection, with a comfortable fit and aesthetically pleasing geometries. To further their stylish explorations, Loop tapped London-based artist and independent designer Andrew Footit for a terrazzo-patterned limited edition release, the Experience Andrew Footit earplugs, that’s as visually refreshing as it is functionally beneficial.

Perhaps the greatest attribute of the release is the marriage of joyful design and tested technology. “Andrew Footit’s bold style was a perfect match for our Experience earplugs,” Loop’s Senior Product Designer, Damien Laglera, shares with us. “When we first developed the Experience earplugs, we had to come up with a new technology to keep sound quality the same, while still protecting your hearing. With that, it is equally as important for us to allow our customers to show off their own unique style while having the ability to customize their earplugs.”

There’s an expressiveness to Footit’s design that aligns with the simple shapes of the Experience earplug. Bringing the two together, however, was no small feat. “Once Andrew Footit was personally done with his design process, we faced one of our biggest design challenges,” Laglera continues. “We needed to get Andrew’s colorful and intricate terrazzo-inspired patterns onto a very, very small earplug.” Laglera and the team tested its application onto a lot of different materials, using various techniques.

Ultimately, that led them to a water transfer printing method. “With this technique, you dip an object into water that has a special adhesive pattern floating at the surface, so it wraps around the whole item. We loved this handcrafted approach because every piece comes out slightly different making each pair of Loop’s Experience Andrew Footit earplugs truly unique,” he says. Once the earplugs are adorned with their pattern, each set is placed into its carrying case and then packed into boxes—both of which are also designed by Footit.

Footit’s collaboration is one facet of the thoughtfully designed ecosystem of Loop products—which are tailored for specific activities, or organized by style. “We build a story around each collection to guide our design process accordingly,” Laglera says. “To make it simple, it takes a few big steps to get from an original idea to a product ready to launch. This includes intricate research projects—around personal comfort, the market, technology and material—that lead to new product introductions and even stylized projects.” Through all their products, Loop demonstrates that technological functionality is as important as aesthetics, and neither ever need to be sacrificed.

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