TYR Sunglasses

The better choice for comfortable, high performance cross-fit sessions.

Timeline

•  11 styles
•  10 months
•  Launch: SS 2021

Role

•  Design & development
•  Product & color strategy
•  Quality Control
•  Special order art direction

Tools

•  Paper modeling
•  Form Labs 3D Printing
•  SolidWorks 3D rendering
•  Adobe Illustrator
•  Figma
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Problem

•  User need for lightweight, comfortable eyewear that represents the TYR brand.

Phase I

In 2020, I was tasked with designing a line of sunglasses for TYR Sport. The focus was figuring out how we can design eyewear that customers want to wear and that represents the brand. For this new product expansion, I provided the research, product strategy, 2D and 3D development, and the color strategy. You can find the results of this in Phase I of this case study.
See here for phase II focusing on a UX concept

Strategy

To start, I was provided 3 references to represent the brand stylistically and soon the project ballooned from a 3 product line to a 10 product line for the first year. As new design requests rolled in with varied styling and details, the target focus became blurry. Through understanding the brand where it is (a non trendy sport brand) and wants to go (branching more into lifestyle) as well as observing competitive research, I categorized the eyewear line into 3 buckets: lifestyle, sport, and classic.

From this simple strategy, many other tasks became easier, including:
  • Creating guidelines for each category; what fits and what does not.
  • Presenting in a clear manner and illustrating the brand story for swift review.
  • Addressing what each customer needs their sunglasses for.
  • Applying appropriate color and finish based on user application.
  • Marketing telling each story in a clear and cinematic way.

Development:

Starting with one to two 1:1 low fidelity 3D paper prototypes, I confirmed shapes against the face and quickly iterated on ergonomic dimensions. I was easily able to move to several 1:1 high fidelity 3D printed prototypes to confirm sizing and small functional details before moving to production. The accuracy of the prototypes cut down on factory sample cost; roughly 3 samples or less across the board.
TECHNICAL RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Polarization and mirrored effects multiply options by combining properties, but the base lens color and opacity provide the basis for use case scenarios. Lens color isn't just for fun; selecting the layers of color is a science.
GREEN: Brightens shadows. Low light conditions.
SMOKE: Neutral tone, reduces brightness. Bright conditions.
AMBER: Increases contrast.Variable conditions.
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Communicating these and other technical details needs to Marketing and ensuring the technical component was correct was key. The result was the following infographics, which are presented on each product site.
In addition to the lens research, floating frames were also a strong feature interest. Given that TYR was originally a swimming company, the floating feature would have added nicely to the brand's storyline. However, through testing we found the composition that aids floatation to be inferior and fragile and we found that historically this was seen as gimmicky and not accepted. Given these two points we moved on from this feature to keep it simple and functional.
COLOR STRATEGY
Color strategy in the market is highly varied depending on the brand. Some frames are bright neons or pastels, some are in everyday colors, some have funky prints and tortoise patterns, etc. Given TYR's sporty color history, it makes sense to maintain a few typical bright TYR colors in the sportier frames, allow the lifestyle to follow everyday color schemes and outfits, and let the classic frames follow a more traditional approach. In all cases the lens colors were meant to be the focal point and that's where a lot of the "fun" would happen. Sales illustrated the market's selection of even more "safe" colors than predicted and future color strategy followed, which tightened sku count and narrowed initial color exploration to a strategy that works for TYR.
PACKAGING
A simple padded case, for protection, with a microfiber cleaner and drawstring pouch.

Challenges

01  -  INDUSTRY STANDARDS
There are at lest two ways to measure eyewear in the industry and measurement questions were frequent by customers. For clarity across silos and with the factory I communicated though diagrams and callouts.
02  -  MATERIAL PROPERTIES
To meet the needs of the floating feature, different compositions of the thermoplastic frame were explored. However, it reduced the integrity of the material and increased probability of breaking. In addition, the ideal composition that allowed for the standard CMF strategy mode the frame more fragile. Leaning on subject matter experts, we ultimately decided that the add-on feature was not worth the risk. I then proposed 3 options for float enabling accessories instead.
03  -  COLOR QUALITY
To meet cost constraints, the logo is created with pad printing and typically in black or silver ink. However, certain special colorways needed other logo colors and the thin layer of printing caused transparency issues. If this were to be redone, I would stress creating the logo with a molded, gloss or textured part to perfect get the CMF desired.