When Sahra Lysell was hired by Ørgreen twenty years from now, the Copenhagen-based eyewear company had just started experimenting with color. Today, she works as a full-time Senior Color Designer. We had the chance to meet her in an interview during which she told us more about her incredible job.
I work as part of the design team as a Color Designer and my job is all about colors! I come up with the color schemes and the combination of shades that we use to make our colored frames.
Everywhere! For me, color is emotion. So the starting point is more internal. Design and color are part of our daily life and society. For that reason, you can take inspiration from anything ranging from a stroll in the narrow alleys of Copenhagen with their colorful houses, to a film or the colors decorating a Mexican graveyard for example. But I always keep in mind that the longevity of our glasses is crucial. Considering the high quality and cost of Ørgreen spectacles, I am careful not to get too involved in fashion trends and prefer to rely on my instinct and my deep knowledge of the market.
Ørgreen takes into consideration the cultural differences across the world when designing their glasses and that is the reason why their market is truly international. For example, for the Chinese market we choose to work with a gold that has a hint of red, in reference to the Chinese imperial history. On the other hand Scandinavians prefer a whiter gold. In addition to those cultural differences, skin tones are also taken into consideration when designing a range of colors. Glasses are now seen to actually enhance beauty and may even replace makeup to emphasize the eyes. Actually, the makeup world sometimes inspires me!
Yes, this stage is more technical than the design stage but it is also the most exciting one! Each frame goes through up to 100 separate processes before completion to produce results beyond reproach. Ørgreen titanium frames are individually hand-painted with durable paints that comply with multiple legal and environmental regulations. Moreover, we work alongside with the best factories so that the final painting reaches the same very high standard from the first process to the very last one.
I work very closely with our factories and can keep a sharp eye on the creation of every pair of glasses. My collaborators are always very patient and they are used to being sent a striped feather or a Christmas bauble with my instructions to turn those colors into reality. They surely think that I am the most annoying woman on the planet; but in the end, the results are great.
Photo credit : Ørgreen