Press Release
Kenzo Singer Is Honored with the Golden A' Design Award for EyeWris Reading Glasses in Jewelry Design
Kenzo Singer acknowledged for jewelry design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 28, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Golden A' Design Award in the Jewelry Design category for EyeWris Reading Glasses by Kenzo Singer, designed for EyeWris. The result belongs to the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Golden A' Design Award
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
Regarding EyeWris Reading Glasses
EyeWris is a pair of folding reading glasses that wrap around the wrist. The frames are worn like a bracelet and can be opened into eyewear with one hand, one motion and one second. A patented bi-stable nose bridge made of nitinol memory metal springs open and snaps shut, and is tested for at least 25,000 cycles. Frames are made of lightweight TR-90, with flexible temples shaped for comfort on both the wrist and the face. Polycarbonate lenses include blue-light blocking, UV protection and anti-scratch, anti-smudge and anti-reflective coatings.
About Kenzo Singer
I am a structural engineer turned eyewear designer. Having spent my college and early professional years working as an engineer, I never would have guessed where my life would lead. Having an entrepreneur father was more than an inspiration, he also came up with the idea for EyeWris. As I watched him work, I went from passively interested, to obsessed. As it turns out, physics at the scale of a skyscraper also applies to something as small as a pair of glasses. This unusual meeting of structure and eyewear resulted in the invention of the bi-stable bridge, which made EyeWris possible.
Award Record
With this recognition, Kenzo Singer is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Jewelry Design Award
The A' Jewelry Design Award is an international jewelry design competition recognizing good jewelry designs by best jewelry designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to jewelry designers, jewelry brands, jewelers and goldsmiths from all countries. Entries typically include rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches and pendants. Awarded jewelry designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/jewelry
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/134394
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/134394
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!134394
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/323823
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://eyewris.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- EyeWris Reading Glasses
- Function
- Reading Glasses
- Category
- Jewelry Design
- Discipline
- Fashion Design
- Industry
- Luxury and Fashion
- Colors
- White Smoke, Black, Gainsboro, Dark Slate Gray and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- EyeWris
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Kenzo Singer
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2021 - 2022
- Design ID
- #134394
Credits
- Team
- Mark Singer
- Image Credits
- EyeWris
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- EyeWris reading glasses wrap securely around the wrist so that they are always within reach, eliminating the daily frustration of not having reading glasses when needed. A balancing act of precise geometry and materials engineering, the world's first bi-stable nose bridge utilizes memory metal to both spring open and snap shut. EyeWris represents a meeting of timeless style and innovation, bringing brand new functionality and unparalleled convenience to a familiar product.
- Inspiration
- The idea for EyeWris began as a response to a need; specifically, the needs of my father and co-owner, Mark Singer. He needed a better solution to reading glasses, so that he could always have them with him. My background in structural engineering proved pivotal. As it turns out, physics at the scale of a skyscraper also applies to something as small as a pair of glasses. This unusual meeting of structure and eyewear resulted in the invention of the bi-stable bridge, which made EyeWris possible.
- Research
- Ergonomic research was applied to determine the optimal frame dimensions to fit 95% of human faces and wrists. Fatigue limits of nickel-titanium memory metal was critical to ensure that the bridge could open and close for at least 25,000 cycles. The heat treatment process for this part was also critical to optimize for the spring mechanism to function. For the lenses, due to the high base curve needed for ergonomics on the wrist, a proprietary solution was developed to mitigate optical distortion.
- Challenge
- The field of eyewear, having been around for centuries, has been thoroughly explored and optimized in terms of form and function. As a result, true innovation in eyewear is exceedingly rare and challenging to achieve. While the concept of "glasses on the wrist" is not new, the design challenges are such that it has never been well-executed. Looking back at the design process, with all the challenges along the way, the biggest hurdle was the first one: creating a brand new category of eyewear.
- Realization and Technology
- Patented bi-stable bridge: nitinol memory metal in combination with precisely engineered geometry results in bi-stable spring behavior. Premium Lenses: polycarbonate lenses for best-in-class durability. Includes blue-light blocker, 100% UV protection, anti-scratch, anti-smudge, and anti-reflective coatings. Swiss-developed TR-90 frames: lightweight and extremely durable. Flexible temples engineered for comfort on both wrist and face. Minimum 25,000 open/close cycles
- Operation and Interaction
- On the face, the glasses are worn like traditional eyewear, with the exception of the "arms", which gently but securely grip the temples. On the wrist, the glasses function similarly to a bracelet. It takes one hand, one motion, and one second to change the glasses from wrist-wear to eyewear. The haptic experience of the folding mechanism truly brings the glasses to life.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in 2017 in Santa Barbara, with fully functional prototypes completed in mid 2018. The design was continuously refined during the production prototyping process. Withstanding interruptions due to the global pandemic, the first production models were completed in November, 2021.
- Specifications
- 40mm x 40mm x 60mm (closed/wrist configuration)
- Keywords
- EyeWris, eyewear, glasses, readers, reading glasses, folding, wrist
