INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS: start with the problem, not the solution

When you put technology on someone's face, you're not adding a feature, you're asking them to compromise their identity. Our face is who we are, that’s why it’s used everywhere you need proof of who you are. Tech companies keep missing this because they're solving engineering problems instead of human problems.

I’ve talked to leads on major smart eyewear programs. Kept pushing them on use cases. Got the usual answers: directions, translation, ambient information. But the real challenge is eyeglasses are identity. People choose frames the way they choose how to present themselves to the world. That's why optometrists stock 200+ styles and why the decision feels personal.

These companies make one style. Maybe three if you're lucky. They solved miniaturization, power management, and optical integration. All the hard technical problems. But they never solved "why would someone compromise their personal expression for the ability to see directions they could check on their watch?"

This is what happens when product decisions flow from technical capability instead of genuine human needs. The engineering team can make the electronics small enough, so everyone assumes the product should exist. But nobody with authority stopped to ask what problem this solves that justifies overriding someone's face.

Because a product that ignores our humanity isn't innovation; it's just another gadget gathering dust.

———​