The Optical Vision Site

No Valentine- Try This Anti-Lonely Eyewear

Jess Atkinson Anti-Lonely Eyewear

Jess Atkinson, artist and designer from Canada has designed this Anti-Lonely Eyewear, for people who need to be surrounded by family and friends. We can think of hundreds of reasons why this eyewear would be good. Practicing public speaking, sales techniques, anger management, talking to friends, insomnia and more.

Fashion Optical Displays Keeping The Eyecare Professional Updated And Competitive

Any company that is based in a city called Paradise, has to be a great company, and I would have to say that about Fashion Optical Displays. I have known and seen Fashion Optical products for the 30 years they have been in business, but it has only been a year since I have gotten to know the people and they are some of the nicest people I have ever met in this business, funny, smart and enthusiastic about their product and services. I think you can tell alot about a company’s honesty and ethics by their employees longevity and enthusiasm for their products. Most of the employees have been with Fashion Optical forever!

One of the hardest and crucial things any optical retailer today is make decisions about upgrading their office. You know your look is dated and or worn, you know you have to be competitive, and you know it’s going to cost. It’s not only the price, it’s the hassle, and what type of look, image, colors, traffic flow will you need to remain competitive?

Fashion Optical Displays goal is to make those decisions easy and hassle free: When you go on their website, they offer tons of info and ideas, and even have a free layout section and questionnaire – which allows you to play around with layout and a trend section. Best yet, call Dan and Lori who will present layout ideas including 3D!!!

Fashion Optical 3D Layout

If you don’t believe me, check out a few of these testimonials:

“Fashion Optical Displays did a great job for us from the early planning stages to the delivery. Our phone calls were always taken or returned and our questions were always answered. A top notch professional organization to deal with!”

Thomas T. Henderson, MD

Cheryl McClain, Practice Manager

The Eye Clinic of Austin
Austin, TX

We are constantly receiving compliments from our patients on how beautiful our office appears. The opticians love the displays as they are easy to work off of and easy to maintain.”

Randal Jentzen, OD

Jaya M. Pathapati, OD

Eyecare Plus, LLP
Amarillo, TX

Another benefit for you and your patients AND will give your bragging rights about your new ‘green and eco-friendly’ eyecare office- Fashion Optical is doing their part for the environment.:

‘Fashion Optical Displays recognizes that our efforts may have a direct or indirect impact on the local, regional and global environment. We are committed to minimizing any negative impact by continually evolving toward green, sustainable methods of doing business while continuing to meet our clients’ needs.

This commitment is demonstrable in many ways. On the local level our waste reduction, recycling and energy conservation programs are unparalleled by similar industries. We broke new ground with the use of environmentally-friendly adhesives and finishes. On a larger scale we only use sustainable plantation grown wood, and our use of recycled wood and paper products is ever-increasing.

The FSC logo on our catalog signals not only FSC certification, but also Fashion Optical Displays’ commitment to improving the environment.’

Based upon the the 30 years that I have known about Fashion Optical, their commitment to a hassle free dispensary remodeling, I would give them a call and speak to Dan or Lori FOR FREE, as they strive to give you the best service guiding you on the path to increase your revenue, remain competitive in the eyecare marketplace, improve employee morale with updated optical furnishings and increase productivity. What more can you want!

Building Designs of the Future Using Recycled Materials

Shanghai World Expo-Pavilion Made with Recycled CDS

If you are thinking of owning your own building for your optical business, here are some eco friendly building designs of the future that will not only save the landfills but most likely can save you money by reusing building materials.

Sustainable Building Designs of the Future: Innovative companies are coming up with creative ways to use throw-away materials to build buildings and keeping waste materials out of landfills- saving millions of taxpayer dollars.

They  are showing various offices made from recycling and reusing materials that normally are thrown away.

Shanghai World Expo 2010: Shanghai Corporate Pavilion by Atelier Feichang Jianzhu, building is composed of thousands of plastic tubes made from used CD cases! Other green features the pavilion is incorporating besides the extensive use of recycled materials. Recycled from used CD cases, the polycarbonate tubes will be able to be recycled again at the end of the building’s life. Multi-colored LED lights will be built into the exterior structure and be computer controlled to change the appearance of the exterior on a whim or based on a computer program.

Energy will be collected through a 1,600 sq meter solar thermal energy system of heat collecting tubes on the roof. This system will heat water up to 95ºF and will be used to generate electricity through ultra-low temperature power generation, which is similar to power generation from low-temperature geothermal reservoirs.  This energy will be used for the both the exposition as well as every day power needs. Read the Full Story at Inhabitat

Cardboard Offices

Nothing a design firm in Amsterdam, built their whole office out of cardboard.

Reusing Old Doors- House of Doors

Elberton, Georgia

House Made From Airplanes- Beniot, Mississippi. Cost about $30,000 including buying the plane and moving it.

Old Boats in South Bass Island, OH

Houses Made From Bottles

Houses Made From Tires

House Made From Trash - New Mexico

From Greenopolis:

Water bottle home; Serbia

Kitchen Sink Building-Utrecht, Vlaardingen, Amsterdam

Tags: Eco, Trends
Posted in Design | 1 Comment »

Bamboozled Eyecare

Bamboo Car

Bamboo is a hot and trendy item now, because it grows fast  and is easily renewable plus you can make alot of stuf with it. Thought I would do a fun story about all the many uses of bamboo. First You Drive To Your Office in Your Bamboo Car! Whether by gas or electrical.

Bamboo Electrical Car

Or to be really Eco Friendly you bike to the office in your Bamboo Bike

Bamboo Bike by calfeedesign.com

Bamboo Briefcase

Bamboo Clothing

Of course you are wearing Your Bamboo Clothing and Carrying Your Bamboo Briefcase  or purse.

Bamboo Purse

Walk into your newly remodeled eyecare office with bamboo floors and bamboo optical displays from Fashion Optical Displays.

Fashion Optical Bamboo Displays

Sit down in front of your Bamboo Computer and keyboard with matching bamboo accessories on a bamboo computer chair using a bamboo mat

Bamboo Computer

Bamboo Keyboard and Mouse

And Dispense Bamboo Frames

Amy Sacks Masa Bamboo Collection

Barbara Creations Bamboo Collection

ICU Eyewear Bamboo Eyewear

Moda Vision Bamboo Eyewear

Kayu Design FSC Certified Bamboo Collection

And of course all that bamboo needs it a Panda in every corner

Tags: Eco, Trends
Posted in Design | 1 Comment »

Eco Eye Care Design- Shipping Container Offices

Many optical offices dream of owning their own building, never having to pay rent again. If you are in California, your cost can average $200 a square foot- plus the land, plus taxes, plus, plus and more plus. One of the hottest design trends today is using the glut of worldwide shipping containers for offices and homes.  Not only would using shipping containers be cost effective and eco-friendly- but think about the talk factor with patients and potential patients who will all want to come and see your office- but the media attention- not just from your local media but all those design and green bloggers!

Check out some of these Eco Friendly Shipping Container Offices

Photo:treehugger.com

This is the new office complex being built on New Yorks Hudson River. There will be an eco-friendly rooftop park and open-air market.  The market and park will be atop art studios. A total re-vision of unused space and eliminates eye-sores.

Freitag Recycled Shipping Container Store in Zurich. Nine standard 20 foot shipping containers were chosen for this small space. Check out how small the space and how the containers have fit into the space.

Photo:treehugger.com

R4 House- (R4 means reuse, recover, recycle and reasoning)  which you can also make into an office- The energy consumption is zero because it has a bioclimatic design using solar panels and has a geothermal energy source. Built with six recycled shipping containers. Note the modular design which allows you to make changes. The construction cost 60,000 Euros ($87, 948)and the small home cost 12, 000 Euro. ($17, 588)

Photo:treehugger.com

TravelLodge is experimenting with prefab hotels.

Travellodge Prefab Shipping Container Hotel-London

LOT-EK is a part of a small group of architects working with shipping containers. The below are condos coming to Chinatown in NYC. Featuring 19 stories- the top being artist loft with a commercial base. Great site with lots of pictures!

Shipping Container Condo- Chinatown, NYC

In Odessa, Ukraine, this is a large mall built from shipping containers stacked two deep in this 170 acre site.

Shipping Container Mall- Odessa, Ukraine

Shipping container office was designed by Clive Wilkinson and is the home office of Palotta Teamworks. The 47,000 square foot warehouse is filled with shipping container offices

More outside the box thinking with this new 12 unit office and studio building called ‘The Box Office’. 32 shipping containers were used. By Distill Studio and located in Providence, R.I.

Shipping Container Offices- Providence Rhode Island

To learn more about container homes and offices visit some of the links below- you will definitely be wowed at the creativity and houses!

Resources:

• Rethinking Out of The Box- Eco Friendly Statistics on Container Homes
• The Daily Green- 46 slides of Shipping Container Homes
• Container-Life-
• Design, Buy, Build a Container Home
• Shipping Container Architecture
• Bob Vila- Converting Shipping Containers
• Web Urbanist- Awesome Shipping Container Uses
• Weburbanist- lots of pictures and information on container homes and offices.
• Design Crave- 10 Shipping Container homes

Unique Table Grows Plants and Cleans Air In Waiting Room

Oxygen of Green Low Table

We had done a previous post on air quality- this amazing low table not only is a natural purifier- growing plants right in your waiting room without soil. The Oxygen of Green Low Table by industrial designer Mingling Wang, uses a plant called Tillandsias to purify the air as opposed to loud energy- consuming air purification gadgets. You and your patients will get the benefit of natural pure air plus have an amazing decor!

Turn Your Waiting Room Into A Garden

We have probably all heard by now about growing your own garden- why not grow your garden in your office?

How cool would it be if your waiting room actually became a garden? Plants are good for air quality- certainly economical and a great boost to patient and customer satisfaction. When the vegetable is ripe- give them away!

Here are a few items to help turn your waiting room into the Garden of Eye!

Upside Down Tomato Garden

From Amazon – The Upside-down Tomato Garden
($69.95)  The vines grow downward, allowing the tomatoes to ripen in the air. Complementary Plants like basil and parsley can be planted on top.

Topsy Turvey Tomato

From Amazon- Topsy Turvey Upside down Tomato Planter ($6.95) This doesn’t take up much space- you can hang it from the ceiling. Felknor Ventures 82506 Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planter

Aero Grow Garden

From Amazon (but I also saw this at Cost-Co for about $50.00) Aero Grow Starter Kit $125) AeroGarden™ Starter Kit with Bonus

What I know- if I walked into an office and it had a live garden- it would make me feel good and I would immediately be awed and tell all my friends and blog about it! If they gave me a tomato- as my free gift with purchase- I would go back over and over!

Branding Your Eyecare Office

The key to successful branding is consistency.  Once you’ve created a logo and look that you feel reflects your company’s unique image, whether it be clean and contemporary, casual and friendly, or hip and trendy, it is important that you stay true to your individual identity. Everything you produce impacts how people will see you.  From your business card to brochures, postcards to ads and your website, everything needs to be consistent and compelling from one medium to the next.

Note- Branding Theme in Brocheures

Your retail collateral should inherently express your branding. If you sell luxury, classic, stylish eyewear, your catalog and in store displays should reflect this. Use nice paper, classic fonts and stylish photography.  These details are important and directly convey to the consumer what you represent.  If you use an edgy font or drastically change the color palette from dark blues to fluorescent pinks, your customers will be confused.  Proper branding, consistent usage of your logo, key colors, images and fonts will build your brand recognition to create a memorable identity that your customers will be drawn to.

Submitted by Becky Chan and Heather Chan Graphic Designers Focus Group West