TO SEE BETTER TO LEARN BETTER; Verbien, eyewear for Mexico

Yves Béhar and his fuseproject design team that created the One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop will  launch a new program in partnership with the Mexican Government to design and give away free eyeglasses to disadvantaged children in the states of Mexico on a yearly basis.

The glasses have been designed specifically for children, with a particular attention to the design increasing adoption and persistence by hanging the perception of being a handicap and stigma, a very real issue in Mexico. “Similar to the OLPC philosophy, I want to design products that are suited to the children’s specific needs, life and environment,” explains Béhar. “The children receiving these glasses need frames that are durable, ergonomic and have key customization elements like shape and colour that make wearing the glasses fun and personal.” From advanced plastics that are almost unbreakable and the lightest engineering plastics in existence,to the two‐part design that provides both a unique assembly system that simplifies logistics and means that  children can choose two‐colour frames, this eyewear is specifically re‐thought for children and  their lives.

The glasses have been designed to be fun and fashionable, to avoid the children having any stigmas about wearing glasses.

The proven research behind this give away program has shown that many students’ grades drop dramatically during scholastic years due in large part to problems with their vision. 11% of children in classrooms were not learning simply because they could not read blackboards or books. The proportion of children in need of lenses at or above 0.75 correction can be as high as 60‐70% in some schools in poorer states such as Morellos, Sonora and Chiappas. Half a million new children with the need for corrective eyeglasses enter the school system every year in Mexico. The aim of “See Better to Learn Better” is to provide a solution to children in families that cannot afford the high cost of an eye exam and eyewear.

Yves Béhar designed a flexible collection of glasses using a unique construction system which not  only addresses the need for fit, durability and simple manufacturing, but also enables easy customization of the eyeglasses for individual  users. The top and the bottom of the frame is split in two halves, allowing for easy assembly of the lenses inside the frame without using a traditional heating process (which is a costly option in the field). These frame options are achieved through high-tech manufacturing located in Mexico, where the nose bridge is sonically welded, creating a connection between the top and bottom frame, after the easy insertion of the lenses (the ends of the frames remain open at this stage) and then the glasses are closed with a simple hinge screw.

VIA DEZEEN : http://www.dezeen.com/2010/04/27/verbien-by-yves-behar/