Eyewear design is something that many practitioners can take for granted, but for Italian eyewear behemoth Safilo, it’s an incredibly detailed process which is at the very core of its business.
[CaptionComponent="801"]The company’s creative department comprises 120 designers who conceptualise and develop ideas ahead of manufacturing in what is a multi-layered design process.
Before pen is put to paper or stylus put to tablet, close attention is paid to how each of the brand’s previous collections has sold around the world.
In dedicated brand showrooms, sales data provides vital background information and frames are grouped together by how they have performed. ‘The sales data is a measuring point of the influence you have in the market and how designs perform in different territories. Even in Europe tastes are very different,’ says artistic director of Safilo proprietary brands Nicola Bonaventura.
The design team then starts to work on creating silhouettes, with inspiration coming from a number of sources. Travel is one of the key areas for Safilo says Bonaventura: ‘Travelling the world and looking at people and what they wear, what possessions they have and the environment they live in is very important.’
The results of these worldwide reconnaissance missions, which include ideas for colours and textures, are then translated into mood boards and are brought together with potential silhouette concepts.
The team then creates hand sketches before passing them on to a team of CAD designers who create 3D models. As well as the sales data and mood board predictions, the design team look to previous eyewear collections and vintage frames and sunglasses for inspiration.
If a design gets approved, the 3D technical drawings will be used later on in the manufacturing process for the computer controlled milling machines and injection moulds in the company’s manufacturing plant.
The 3D technical drawings are then passed on to a 34-strong team in the prototyping department. Essentially a miniaturised production facility and in Optician’s eyes, the most impressive aspect of the whole creative department, the prototyping stage sees individual frames created using techniques such as stereolithography and the styles are then scrutinised by the creative department. Bonaventura says the prototypes are used not only to assess each frame’s aesthetic, but its proportions and comfort too. This department can create up to 2,000 frames every year and only 50 per cent are approved for manufacturing.
Ophthalmic frame and sunglass design have different design requirements, Bonaventura explains: ‘Ophthalmic frame design isn’t as dynamic as sunglass design, but it requires more work on the technology and the fit. You wear the frames for 12 hours or more every day, so fitment needs are paramount. Sunglasses are for the moment, but an ophthalmic frame is part of your life.’
[CaptionComponent="802"]This attention to fitment is evident within Safilo’s own collection for 2014. At the heart of the new range, the Elasta 80 hinge is the latest in a long line of flexible hinges that the company has created since the 1970s.
The simplicity of the new hinge sets the tone for the whole collection. ‘We have introduced several new innovations with the collection – the material (XE4066 polymer) and the Elasta 80 hinge, so the collection’s design is sharper and more modern. This year the company is celebrating its 80th anniversary, so it is a perfect time to revisit the Safilo values of fit and comfort, while looking to the future with new technology,’ says Bonaventura.
Optician took the opportunity to ask Bonaventura whether the company’s embracement of technology extended to working with smart glasses. ‘At this moment in time, it isn’t something that we are working on, but our R&D department is undertaking long-term research because more companies are looking to minimise technology and the way it can be implemented. Personally, I’m not convinced by the concept at the moment, because glasses are something that you wear for a long time and I don’t think smart glasses offer that currently.’
3D printing is another hot topic in eyewear technology and is used heavily within Safilo’s prototyping department. But what does Bonaventura think about the technique being used to manufacture frames in the consumer realm? ‘3D printing is great for us as it provides us with a real frame to exact dimensions and we can check size and fit very quickly. However, Safilo has to provide a certain amount of guarantees to buyers, for example on the hinge mechanism and the lens mountings, and the materials currently used for consumer-level 3D printed frames cannot offer those,’ he says.
