Would you love to design your own glasses?

Almost every glasses-wearer has experienced the frustration of trying on pair after pair, feeling like nothing is quite right. If only you could design them yourself! In fact, you really can design your own glasses. It just takes some prep work, and of course, enough money to pay for custom eyewear.

More than half of all people wear corrective lenses of some sort. If you’ve been avoiding glasses because you can’t find the right pair, it’s time to learn about creating your own. Whether or not you actually make custom frames, you’ll learn a lot here about what goes into creating a great pair of glasses. Keep reading to learn more about your lenses!

Design Your Own Glasses: From Start to Finish

To design your own glasses, you need a combination of creativity and know-how. Here’s what the process of making your own pair will look like from beginning to end.

1. Find Your Brand

First, you’ll need to find the brand that will let you make custom eyeglasses. There are a few custom eyewear companies out there, so research until you find one that looks like a good fit. Don’t forget to compare the cost – custom glasses won’t be cheap, but some brands charge more than others.

2. Collect Ideas

Now, it’s time to find inspiration on how to create the best design for you.

You can use anything from a mood board to the inspiration from nature to spark your imagination. You can also look at what eyewear manufacturers are currently making to get an idea of the styles and trends available.

Don’t forget to make the glasses functional, too. If you’ll be wearing them every day, and even at work, you probably don’t want a crazy design or too many colors. Since you’re investing a lot of time and money into this project, it’s important that you’re happy with the results.

3. Understand What’s Flattering

You can wear any style that makes you happy. However, knowing what glasses styles look best on your face might help you through the inspiration process.

For example, knowing your face shape can help you design the best possible pair of frames. Some frames complement certain face shapes more than others. For example, people with round faces often look nice with square, angular frames. Those with angular faces can wear soft, rounded frames well. Generally speaking, frames that are the opposite of your face shape will complement you best.

Of course, these aren’t rules that you have to follow. Round frames can also look great on someone with a round face. It’s just an idea to help you get started on designing your perfect pair.

You’ll also want to consider the best color for you. Many people prefer glasses in a neutral color that goes with everything. But as long as you’ll be comfortable wearing that color every day, any frame color will do.

Some people like frames that match the color of their eyes. You can also match your frames to your natural hair color for a flattering look, or choose a contrasting color, such as black frames against red hair.

Finally, you can consider your skin tone. Is your coloring more cool, neutral, or warm? This may impact the frame color that you choose.

4. Start Creating

Now that you have your ideas in mind, it’s time to start creating your glasses.

At this stage, you’re still experimenting. Many people choose to sketch out their designs. You can also use a computer program to digitally experiment with different styles. Sometimes, these programs even let you virtually “try on” the frames using a picture of yourself.

If you’re not a great artist, don’t worry. Your sketches just help you record your ideas, but they don’t have to be perfectly executed. You can also explain to the eyewear manufacturer in words what you have in mind, but the sketch will help them visualize it.

5. Review and Make Changes

It’s important to give yourself plenty of time for the design process. One important step that you should take is to step away from your sketches for a few days. When you come back to them with fresh eyes, you’ll probably see a few changes that you want to make.

6. Choose Your Materials

If you haven’t done so yet, decide on what material your glasses will be made out of. Will you wear wood, plastic, or metal frames? Even if you already have the shape and color picked out, don’t forget that different materials can offer a different look.

7. Measure Your Face

Once you’ve settled on your final design (and given yourself a few days to consider it), it’s time to take measurements.

The manufacturer will customize not just the design, but the size of your glasses to your specifications. It’s important to have accurate measurements so the glasses will fit perfectly. Measure your face height and width, as well as the length between the pupils of your eyes.

8. Consider a Prototype

Professional eyewear designers often get prototypes to make sure the finished product is exactly what they want. If you can, think about getting a prototype of your frame design. A 3D printed prototype can be relatively inexpensive and lets you try on the frames and make changes before you pay for the finished product.

9. Buy Your Frames

At last, you can finalize the design and purchase your custom frames. Whether it’s contact lenses vs glasses, make sure that you have corrective lenses to wear in the meantime, since custom designs can take a long time to complete.

Ready to Design Your Own Eyeglasses?

When you design your own glasses, you’ll have something unique that fits you perfectly. If you haven’t been happy with your last few pairs, a custom design might be just the thing you need.

As you design your frames, some graphic design know-how can help you along the way. Check out our graphic design tips and tricks here.