Inclusive design for life

Spectacle-wearing can convey aspects of a person’s character. For many, eyewear has become a statement of fashion, culture and identity and is worn with confidence; some people even wear frames without corrective lenses. The proliferation of optical boutique practices and high street stores offer choice and designer frames, some seldom think of glasses as a medical appliance anymore. Yet this was exactly how they were defined by the National Health Service (NHS) just a few decades ago and we must not forget that, for some individuals, a stigma remains. It is not only the frame styles, but also the design of the service through which they are offered that has changed our relationship with these objects.