Case and glasses research survey

Our group conducted a short survey to get some answers from glasses wearers for our case research and help with the development process.

We asked 3 questions:

we found that most people left their cases at home rather than taking it with them 

we found that it was around 1.5-3 years however on average it was 2 years. 

some of the answers were when they updated their prescription and the average time for that is 2 years as usually glasses company's (opsm, specsavers, etc) remind the customer after that amount of time.

majority of the answers were hard cases and hard materials like wood and metal

Client's budgeting and requirements

Steph sent us requirements for Mr Foureyes cases and give us an idea on their budget


Apologies for not getting back to you sooner, I have been sick for the past couple of weeks and still not quite at full brain faculties I would have to say. Hopefully what I have jotted down below still makes some sense - I just wanted to give you a few more details on practical and design considerations that would be important to us for the glasses cases and packaging.
Need to think about the way the glasses case is used i.e. often carried around in someone's bag or handbag, and depending on how they use their glasses, may be opened and shut multiple times per day. To me this leads to preferring something smaller and more streamlined. The alternative approach such as the Proof eyewear wooden case is a statement piece but in reality I personally would transfer the glasses from that into a more practical case for day to day use. In addition, the clasp or whatever holds the case shut (depending on the design) should hold up over time i.e. should continue to be secure after much use.
The size would need to comfortably fit any of the frames in our range (dimensions of the frames can be seen on the website but would need to experiment a bit with maximum height when glasses are folded up - as a glasses wearer, I know the frustration of glasses that have to be folded just right to fit in their case!)
We really liked the idea of having a specific case for the kids glasses. Additional considerations there would be sturdiness, appropriateness across a reasonably wide age range (i.e. primary and secondary kids), and not too heavy for transporting between school and home etc.
Cost: for comparison, fairly basic/generic glasses cases can be picked up locally for between $4 and $8 (unit prices somewhere like Ali express can be as low as a couple of dollars US, but shipping can be expensive, although there are suppliers who do free shipping).
Design considerations: we like the idea of making the case a point of difference/feature rather than just a generic component of the purchase. Therefore playing with different materials (e.g. wood as we discussed) is appealing, as is the concept of being NZ-made (although given the frames are not NZ-made we probably would not be able to overly emphasise this aspect without sounding a bit hypocritical!). We also like the concept of incorporating sustainable/renewable materials. 
Packaging: we also discussed the packaging for frames being sent out for home try-on. How this would work is that the customer would select some frames (4-5) on our site for home try-on, and we would send them out with blank lenses in for them to try on. They would have a set time to look at them (1-2 weeks) and would then need to return them to us. The frames would need to be securely packaged, but hopefully without excessive packaging or waste. Something that could be used to return them to us as well would make sense, so the customer could be confident the frames would also be safely returned. It would be nice to play on the element on excitement in unwrapping a parcel i.e. to make it an exciting/pleasurable part of the experience. Externally, the frames would either be packaged in a regular courier bag, or you could try and design something that would replace the need for the courier bag itself (I have not looked into the requirements from our courier company for this aspect). Since sending frames out and back is already relatively expensive (involving courier charges in both directions plus requiring higher stocking rates), I think we would want to keep the budget for packaging fairly low here.

Andrew Tobin Talk

Andrew Tobin from New Zealand Post: I'm not buying Design I'm buying conviction

In this talk Andrew highlights the importance of segmentation of the market into what they need. Its best to group the customers in what they need rather then age, gender,etc. Grouping with what type of consumer they are will help the brand/company unpack what each group of consumers will need and how they will reach them.

Organising Survey Questions

Potential survey questions to be sent out:
-Question about user/customer experience
-What should be included with your case?
-How long until you replace you case?
-What materials would you like the cases to be made out of?
-Do you take your cases with you when you go out or do you leave it at home?

Posting cost

Material research

From our research we have found the majority of people leave their glasses cases at home when going out. Because of this we have focused on designing a case sturdy enough to protect its interior, however using cost-effective and sustainable materials such as corrugated cardboard and timber. These materials are easily sourced in New Zealand, cutting down shipping costs abroad as well as courier within New Zealand.

Our final design generates a reasonable amount of waste due to our manufacturing process, however the material (corrugated cardboard) can be recycled.

Our chosen material of corrugated cardboard provides a cost-effective and eco-friendly option of manufacture. Not only can this material be easily sourced, however it is light enough to cut shipping costs and also provides enough strength needed to protect the glasses. Although corrugated cardboard is commonly used for packaging, we have utilized its properties in a new and interesting way - layering sheets up to create a see-through patterned effect. After showing this design to several fabricators, we have gained confidence in the unique and beautiful aesthetic our manufacturing process and design brings to the glasses case.

- Samuel Berry

Corrugated Card used in design

source: http://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/07/lexus-fully-drivable-cardboard-car-is-saloon-model/

Cardboard Bicycle by Izhar Gafni

Israeli engineer and systems developer Izhar Gafni has invented a cardboard bicycle that's strong, waterproof and costs less than £10 to manufacture 

"The idea is like Japanese origami," he says in the movie. "You fold it once and then it doesn't become twice the strength, it's almost three times the strength. So I took it from there and did the same thing with cardboard."

After the shape has been cut out, the cardboard is treated with a waterproof and fireproof coating specially created by Gafni, before lacquer paint is applied over the top.

The Cardboard Bicycle Project is a new, revolutionary and green concept to produce bicycles made of durable recycled cardboard. ERB is an active partner which manages all the business and financial aspects of this project. ERB leads the worldwide business activity of the cardboard bicycle in Israel and abroad.

The first commercial model of the bicycle is designed for large companies as a vehicle for their employees and for large cities as a cheap, light-weight vehicle. Parallel to those, the electric model is being developed.

The Cardboard Bicycle can withstand water and humidity. Part of our unique technology enables us to create a product that looks like it is made out of hard lightweight polymer. The bike is stronger than carbon fibre and can carry riders weighing up to 220 kilograms. The cost to make the bicycle is around $9-$12.

source: http://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/12/cardboard-bicycle-by-izhar-gafni/

Survey & Materials

To determine the materials and design of our glasses cases, we conducted a survey to study our target audience as well as their needs and wants when it comes to using and purchasing glasses cases.

We came up with three main audiences:

• Early adopters: women and men in their early 20s and to mid 30s who are in the workforce and who are style-conscious and socially aware..
• The creatives: they are usually the first to know about what is new in the market
• Do-gooders: people who genuinely care about ethically-made products, they want to help/contribute in whatever way they can

The common thread between each of these audiences is their need for something fast, easy and ideally transparent.

In regards to packaging, we asked three specific questions:

• Do you leave your glasses case at home or take it with you when going out?

From our survey we found that 71% of people prefer to leave cases at home

• Too bulky to carry with them throughout the day
• People rarely find the need to use a case when wearing them the majority of the time

• How often do you replace your glasses with a new pair?

We found the average number being 2 years as prescriptions are commonly updated at this time too.

• What materials would you like to see your glasses case made from?

Recyclable materials (cardboard, paper, timber) and metal

Taking the results from our research into account, we have focused on designing a case sturdy enough to protect its interior, however using cost-effective and sustainable materials - our chosen materials being corrugated cardboard, elastic and card…the reason being, these materials are easily sourced within New Zealand, consequently cutting down shipping costs abroad as well as courier within the country.

Although corrugated cardboard is commonly used for packaging, we have utilised its properties in a new and interesting way - layering sheets up to create a see-through patterned effect.

The simplicity of the design allows it to be changeable. What we mean by changeability is the design does not need to be altered to allow for the use of different materials. Alternative materials we have considered that could be used instead of corrugated card are timber and plastic. We have taken consideration that the change to these materials will increase the price of manufacturing these cases. Corrugated card is relatively cheap and the properties it has makes it suitable for our design without going over the Mr Foureyes’ budget.  We have also thought about possible materials that can line the inside of the case and the top of the case. Leather could be used to give it a more luxurious look where as using felt could be good for kids cases to have that soft, fuzzy and playful element inside.

Client feedback from formative presentation

Ravi and Steph reached out to our communicator Jack to give us feedback on our overall concepts

Hey Jack. To be honest, we are not sure what mess up your team made - thought you guys were pretty awesome.
Tomorrow should be good for us as we work from home. Will it be okay to have it at our place again? Baking will be provided as a form of bribery.
Timing wise Annabel's group is here from 11-12, and we need to pick Manu from Creche at 1.15. Other than that we can work around your times on this one.

Just some feedback from the proposal;

Good points:
- loved the work your team did in the physical products, great to hold them and it was really easy to see where you guys are heading.
- you identified issues that we were aware of, so good work on spotting them.
- the mood board for the packaging is great - really shows us your thought process. I reckon that there could be just a little blurb on the page to explain your thought process though.
- more of an FYI, but you guys have shown great initiative on approaching us first and talking to us so well done!

Things to consider:

- the mood board for the brand just needs a bit more thought. I understood from your presentation where the team was heading, but it doesn't quite match the proposal. This is just an FYI for the future really and already had been talked about from the feedback at the presentation.
- we really, really like your ideas around the cases/home try-on. We are aware that there is only a short amount of time left, and since you were the main team discussing cases (permanent), whether this would be a direction you would like to go?
- there will be some crossover with other teams e.g. Kim's team are doing the cloth so there will be a colour/design theme that they follow including the cloth needing to be of a particular size to match the size of the cases.

We are mentioning this to everyone, but as a two-man-band we really could do with some advice and help with implementing a social media campaign - happy to talk to just the VCD students, but might briefly touch on this for Friday when we see everyone.

Hope that helps? just let us know what time works for your team and we can take it from there.

Lecture 16/9

Lecture 16/9

Fashion Designer - Juliette Hogan

NZ - broader skill set compared to overseas (US) creating a significant learning curve having to adapt to different approaches of working

Financial support is hard to achieve - start small and manage your way up

Majority of clothing made on shore - big support for local economy. Items such as jeans are not able to be made completely on shore - theses are sent to China for completion. This however is a necessity and this manufacturing process is prevented where possible.

Juliette started her business solely by herself, accepting no help at the beginning. Over time, she realised she needed people with different strengths (i.e. retail sales staff) who could fulfil various roles better than her.

Lecture 16/9

UX and Interaction Designer- Brian Lucid

Brian talked about the "death of web", which was confusing at first but then he gave a very convincing argument. He explained that the web and designers were in danger of falling into a pattern of using a standardised template for web design (eg, big landing pages with big headings) and that designers were losing their sense of innovation. 

Corrugated Cardboard

Corrugated Cardboard is an economical packaging option that provides protection and cushioning of goods in transit.

Formative Dossier Final

A few pages from our formative dossier. We wanted to mimic the same aesthetic for Mr Foureyes. We used their font: gotham and we decided to using the grey and blue from their colour pallete

-Jack, Jannyne and Shannen

Formative Presentation slides

(introduction)

First we will define the brand. Mr Foureyes is a online eyewear store. Their points of difference to the typical eyewear store is they offer a quick and affordable reglazing service and they work with a charity doing a buy one give one to a child in need. The company values transparency and good customer service. Mr foureyes also has a competitive advantage in the local market being one of the very few online eyewear stores based in New Zealand. 

Mr Foureyes aims to target customers in their 20s and 30s as they are the ones who most likely have had experience with online purchasing. Their market is also likely to go online for a wider range of products. The late majority are in the 40s as they tend to purchase their goods at physical stores.

Here are two examples of how we have defined a possible Mr. Foureyes customer:

Sarah is a 28 year old primary school teacher. She is a free spirit that is environmentally and socially aware. She sees everything for its worth and has a keen eye for detail. On sunday mornings she spends it at the local market buying fresh produce. In the weekdays she typically works a 8 to 4 day therefore she wants convenience when purchasing personal goods - hence why purchasing from Mr. Foureyes online is most efficient for her.

Chris is a 34 year old city planner. In the workplace Chris prefers to hold business meetings over coffee in a cafe instead of the office meeting space. Chris is aware of how he presents himself to the public eye and values a good balance between work and life. Chris is stylish and cost effective and wants to update the prescription of his current glasses. Chris knows that reglazing is expensive but has found out that Mr Foureyes does this service quickly and charges less.

Mr Foureyes has the right demographic in mind but we think they could target them in more effective ways. Also their quirky name does not match their brand aesthetic therefore creating a gap between the brand’s values and its visual identity.

concept 1 -deliverables/ moodboard

• Our proposition is to emphasize themselves as a local brand. This would be done by drawing inspiration from local sources such as Wellington culture. We want real people wearing the glasses in an everyday situations and locations. We believe that this will make Mr Foureyes more approachable and relatable to its target audience while sticking to their brand values of transparency, community, value and style.

• We plan to use social media to do this. Specifically instagram and facebook -two popular social media platforms that will be the most effective in reaching the audience they want.
• We also plan to advertise through stickers, posters and other inexpensive visual material that compliments the local identity we are attempting to portray. Also  making these communications interactive to emphasise the personal and quirky nature of the brand.

Mr. Foureyes requires three different types of packaging for their products that are innovative, practical and appropriate for the targeted user - something more personal, creating a more exciting experience for the user.

The first type is HOME TRIAL packaging - a case which holds several pairs of glasses

• Cost effective
• Sturdy
• Sustainable
• Preferably Re-usable
• Lightweight

The second type is PERMANENT PACKAGING, ideally being...

• Durable
• Sustainable
• Something DISTINCTIVE  - not a generic case like most companies provide, however something that will be remembered not only for beauty however function and practicality

The third type is Kids packaging - something colourful, interactive and sturdy as kids tend to be more reckless with their belongings. However something exciting to use - encouraging them to be proud and wear their glasses.

Packaging Budget

We have experimented with materials based on our first Mr. Foureyes meeting where we discussed the use of wood and cardboard.

• Easily sourced and manufactured here in NZ
• Eco friendly

Cost of materials (MDF, Corrugated Card) is low and easily sourced, however might get expensive in certain areas of manufacturing

• Eg. Laser cutting is based on the quantity ordered, also assembly which could be done in house or outsourced.

Relating back to our marketing, we would like provide a personal touch with our packaging - pamphlet etc.

(showing our prototypes)

So far Mr Foureyes has the foundations to create a solid business and has the potential to be successful. With our help in the refinement of the overall consistency of all their touchpoints with the consumer and in the innovation of the products and services they provide. We are sure that Mr Foureyes can become a locally known and trusted brand.

Formative dossier Moodboards

For each of our concepts we created a mood board to reflect our ideas and to visual communicate to the client what we are going for.

marketing/identity:

Jack and Shannen

packaging:

Sam and Rachael

Formative presentation Prep

prototype

samples

Dossier work

practicing presentation

Formative dossier Development

Initial visual style and layout- Jannyne

Developments- Jack

Developments- Jannyne