Here is my heart sunglasses design with measurements and callouts. I'm sort of in love with the leopard design--would love to have a pair of my own! Hopefully the file is readable-the text and measurements look pretty small in this window. Hmm. . . I might have to play around with that. Let me know what you think! Thanks.

This is my third sketch. I made some heart shaped sunglasses, that I imagined being in brushed silver metal frames and stems. The stems have several small cut outs; I had been thinking of ways to make the glasses more modular and fun, and I remembered how some Japanese friends/students I've had love to wear colorful shoe laces to personalize them. I thought it'd be cute if these glasses had the option to weave some colorful ribbon in the side cut outs. I also liked the idea of having two different lens colors--so I made the top in silver reflectiev mirror, and the bottom a fun translucent pink. To me, this design epitomizes "futuristic kawaii." :)

Second sketch. I really liked the shape of this gold necklace--when flipped around it looked like a cat eye to me. I wanted to keep the gold in some reflective mirror lenses and glasses stems, then make the frames a cheery yellow in transparent acetate. I also played around with some red, since it was all over my mood board.

My first sketch. I really liked this photo I found in a Rolling Stone magazine--It's a d.j. booth/table in an interesting shape. As soon as I saw it, I thought it might look good as a glasses frame. So here's what I came up with. I like the idea of using color and metallic, so the frames would be transparent royal blue acetate, and the glasses stems would be clear acetate. The lenses would be reflective silver mirror. Also, I thought it would be interesting to have a cutout in a thick stem, and then add more of the reflective mirror lens in the cutout, so that people who wore this would be able to see in their peripheral. I have "fitover" sunglasses that fit over my regular prescription glasses, and they have a lens built into the stems, though they're more rectangular shaped. I've been living in Japan for a little over three years now. My inspiration comes from two elements of this fascinating culture: the clean lines and modern/modular construction of much the architecture and products, and kawaii style. "Kawaii" (rhymes with Hawaii) means cute, and is associated with things that are adorable, playful, and colorful. It's often illustrative/cartoon-y, giving huge eyes and smiley faces to everything from animals to food.

But Japan is also known for its futuristic aesthetic: minimalist, restrained, maybe a robot here or there, and, because space is so limited, modular and multi-functional. I wanted to explore the ways I could possibly bring together modern/futuristic and kawaii: playful shapes and futuristic materials (like metallics, clean white, and transparent), clean silhouettes and fun colors. I'd also love to try to experiment with how one pair of sunglasses could have more than one look. 

I've even thought about trying to explore some unconventional ways of how one pair of glasses could be both prescription glasses and sunglasses. I usually have to wear prescription glasses (contacts just dry my eyes out too much to wear all day err'day), and I don't really like those Transitions/Photochromic glasses (they just never get dark enough for me), and it's a pain in the bootie to have to change out my glasses to sunglasses all the time. So, is there a way to make some dope glasses that could quickly change to sunglasses, or for the non-glasses wearer, change from one tint of lens to another? That's why I included the picture of the glasses with the clear and dark lenses--can people wear those upside-down, too? If so, that's pretty amazing, and I might try to explore some looks with that in at least one of my designs.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think. All feedback is welcome! Thanks. =)