Swag Optics
July 2012 - January 2014
Swag optics was an eye-wear start-up I developed. Our intention was to create a pair of sunglasses that was more resilient than a traditional pair of sunglasses. Our concept was to use rubber to create a frame that could be bent, thrown, dropped, stepped-on and retain its shape. An additional advantage to using rubber for the frames is that the lens shape can change, altering the look of the sunglasses (This concept is shown in the first three renderings of the orange frames).
Although this project never became a product due to high capital requirements, the development phase was challenging, enjoyable, and very extensive. 3D-printing was critical to the design and prototyping process. We printed frames in traditional materials as well as flexible plastics (to mimic the properties of rubber). We also printed molds that allowed us to cast rubber and create functional prototype parts.
