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DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

: I would like to experiment with different materials and design an eyewear collection including optical glasses and sunglasses.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

: The production of the first prototypes and the testing took more than a year.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

: Last year my brother and I founded our company and we plan to develop and produce our product ourselves.

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

: Since I myself wear glasses, this particular object plays an important role in my life. I wanted to re-think the possibilities of eyewear production and create a unique frame for myself. After finishing the first prototypes, I realised how much I enjoy designing spectacles and have since had serious plans with it.

DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?

: Before I started designing, I looked for designers who had made innovative spectacles, this helped me overcome the usual way of making eyewear.

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

: I tried to choose a name that hints on the unique rotating mechanism of the hinges. That was the reason why I chose the name Axis, which has a similar meaning in most languages.

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

: For the gluing process of the plywood I used 3D printed templates, after which I used a CNC router for cutting. I tried to design the simplest product possible, that could be produced with the least use of machinery.

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

: The inwards rotating temples and the unexpected spring effect, that we managed to achieve by using wood only, make the product unique.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

: During the design process of the eyewear, durability was always an important aspect, which we achieved through thorough testing and novel technical solutions. Of all these challenges the most difficult to overcome was the reliable fastening of the lenses, and the production of durable wooden hinges.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

: The amount of time and energy we invested in this project made me realize, that this could be a design worthy enough to compete on the international scene. This award has been a great acknowledgement and I am quite sure, there is still more to come.

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

: I acquired a great deal of practical, technical knowledge, thanks to which I have become a much more confident designer.