Eyewear Design Course Series

The Eyewear Design course series focus on making meaningful eyewear pieces that enhance the everyday lives of diverse users. It partners with external firms and is offered to Product Design Major and Minor students at Drexel University.

Through this course, students learn how to apply human-centered design research methods to identify and define problems related to eyewear and eyecare. They measure various facial structures, prototype conceptual eyewear solutions, and evaluate and refine their chosen concept based on the user needs testing.

Students will leave the course with an understanding of the eyewear industry, eyewear design process, the impact of usability and ergonomics on human-centered product development, how to engage with end-users and experts to inspire and refine their designs, and technologies including 3D modeling eyewear pieces and 3D printing process.

The course is structured around 5 main components:

Human-Centered Design Methods — a design method that allows designers to empathize with users and focus on their needs. By using human-centered design research methods, students conduct primary and secondary research, user interviews, and create personas to understand their target users better.
Interview Experts in the Field — Students take field trips to visit and interview optometrists and get feedback from eyewear designers, gaining valuable insights from industry experts.

Work with Industry Clients— Students collaborate with real-world clients to develop comprehensive commercialization roadmaps. This involves problem-solving, solution development, testing, and pitching.
Field Trips to Eye Clinics, Eyewear & Eyecare Trade Shows - Through immersive experiences, students visit eye clinics and participate in eyewear and eyecare trade shows including Vision Expo East, gaining firsthand knowledge of industry practices and trends.
Use Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Students utilize cutting-edge manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing to create prototypes, facilitating hands-on learning and innovation in product development.

The current Winter 23-24 Eyewear Design studio course is taught by June He, Founding Director of Empathic CoDesign Lab, and Assistant Professor of Product Design at the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, with the support of Professor Rachel Higgins and her students from Visual Merchandising course, and teaching assistant Zetta Megenhardt from the Design & Merchandising Program. It is sponsored by New York based firm ClearVision Optical and their corporation partners, CEO David Friedfeld, Senior Brand Manager Pam Elfriech, and Talent Specialist Dominika LeCates.

History

June He has been a professional eyewear designer based in the Great New York area for more than a decade. She was an in-house designer for Italian Eyewear Fashion Houses including Marchon Eyewear and Marcolin Eyewear, collaborating with brands such as Henri Bendel, GUESS, Victoria’s Secret, etc. She led the technical design department in the headquarters of Warby Parker in New York City. She designed exquisite eyewear pieces to accessorize celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey, and Miss Universe Ximena Navarrete. She often leads design teams to travel and partner with international stakeholders across the globe and guides overseas manufacturing processes.

Drawing from extensive experience as a professional eyewear designer, June He is uniquely positioned to develop an eyewear design course in an academic setting. This is a ground-breaking initiative because no universities in the United States systematically teach college students about the eyewear design process and its craftsmanship. Historically, eyewear designers learn the craft from their mentors as an apprentice in the industry. This eyewear design course series opens a new channel for students who are interested in exploring innovative solutions at the intersection of medical device and fashion accessory.