Full-Service Luxury Eyewear Line

Product Design, Direction, & Development • Brand Identity, Logo, Packaging & Marketing • Social Media, E-commerce & Business Strategy

SITUATION

In 2013 Dr. Milton Grin, ophthalmologist/entrepreneur in Olathe, KS hired me to design a line of luxury eyewear to sell out of his optical shops and online.

I began experimenting and creating mock-ups by embedding rubies, sapphires, and diamonds into cheap frames I found at thrift stores using a Dremel and some old watch bezels.

While attending the Vision Expo in NYC, I came across a line of American made eyewear who was willing to manufacture my designs for us.

PROCESS

To design frames that would be set apart, I began by incorporating gemstones and precious metals into the temples. I studied hinges, shapes, sizes, colors and trends. I ultimately came up with a series of designs making use of different materials, parts and processes in order to see what could be made and what couldn’t.

Concurrently, I began working on the brand’s identity and met with Dr. Grin frequently to review mood boards to define our customer:

Milton. IS A LINE OF HANDMADE, LUXURY EYEWEAR. HIGH IN QUALITY AND SOPHISTICATION YET, EQUALLY COMFORTABLE. Milton. IS UNDERSTATED, WELL ROUNDED, AND SOFT-SPOKEN. Milton. FRAMES ARE DESIGNED TO UNDERLINE SOMEONE’S PERSONAL AESTHETIC RATHER THAN DRAW ATTENTION TO HIS OR HERSELF. Milton. IS ART DECO INSPIRED WITH INFLUENCES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. OUR CUSTOMER IS A SMART, WELL DRESSED, HIGHLY CULTURED TASTE-MAKER WHO LOVES TO COLLECT ART, TRAVEL AND “SEE THE WORLD”. 

After finalizing the logo, identity, look and feel of the brand, we started designing packaging and accessories. I hired a production designer to help me source materials, handle any correspondence with our vendors and provide quality control. I photographed frame prototypes individually as we received them and outlined effective retail strategies including management SOPs as we moved closer to launch.

SOLUTION

We designed and produced over twenty styles of frames, each pair adorned with mother of pearl in the shape of a “dot” like the period you see at the end of Milton’s name in our logo. We chose to have our logo engraved in gold on the inside of the temples because we did not want to take away from the integrity of the design of the frames themselves. Obscuring our logo further refined our frames, resulting in understated elegance.

It was important for us to be able to sell our frames both in stores and online. I used CRO (conversion rate optimizaiton) strategies to get the most out of consumer micro-moments and designed a clean interface with clear navigation.

I hired and worked with a web developer to build a custom checkout flow which enabled our customers to order prescription lenses for their frames. Drop down menus chronicled all lens options and prescription variables for easy selections and a clear, simple CTA (Call-To-Action).

Additionally, we built a separate form at check out which permitted us to offer and obtain lens prescriptions directly from providers for any customers who did not have their prescription handy.

RESULTS

The next and last step was marketing, micro-local, and spreading brand awareness. A fan of growth hacking, I reached out to a couple publications around town and scheduled two journalists to interview Dr. Grin and write editorials on our eyewear line in their magazines. One was in K ansas City Magazine and the other in Spaces Magazine. I also arranged to have photographer Jenny Wheat do a photo-shoot under my art direction and styling. It was important for me to maximize the shoot for intelligent content. After a full day of shooting we had what we needed to launch our brand digitally and publicly.

We strategically planned our launch party on First Friday to get the most exposure. I found a space on 18th street for the event. I hired two models to pose at the party wearing our frames, and pass out free tote-bags with our logo to help promote our brand on the streets. I had photos from our shoot printed extra large and posted them around the space. We had over five hundred attendees.