02.22.05
Priority Designs helps create new protective eyewear for STX.

Priority Designs, which specializes in designing products for people with active lifestyles, recently helped STX Lacrosse create the 4sight line of lacrosse players protective eye wear. Due to evolving rule changes in women's lacrosse, players are now required to wear protective eye wear. This is a shift in the practice as women's lacrosse has traditionally been a "bare bones" game with little physical contact between players. As styles of play and ball speeds has risen, so to has safety concerns over the risk of eye injuries.

STX Lacrosse, a lacrosse equipment manufacturer, asked Priority Designs to help them design a product that would give maximum protection, offer excellent visibility and would fit in with the lifestyle of the game. Led by senior designers Kevin Vititoe, Aaron Cornaby, and Mike Lorenz, Priority Designs explored many options from full face shields to streamlined eye wear. The 4sight design was the favorite among them. Said, Kevin Vititoe "To meet women's league safety requirements, we decided to use steel wire with a soft protective foam frame that would form to the players facial curves. This gave the 4sight goggle the protection it needed to pass a 60 mph ball impact test." The foam is also embedded with anti-microbial agents that help reduce facial blemishes.

Priority Designs also wanted to make the goggles look like something that players would want to wear instead of something they had to wear. "We gave them an aggressive cat's eye-esque profile" said designer Aaron Cornaby, "giving the wearer that bad ass kitty, you don't want to mess with me " look.

In addition to the goggles, senior designer Sean Svendsen also created the 4sight logo, badge design and clear poly packaging. Said Sean Svendsen, "we created a die-cut cardboard insert with pop-up eyes so a consumer could see the goggles in context, then we put them in a easy to open clear box to encourage consumers to take out the googles and try them on. STX was very pleased with the whole project and the goggles are selling well."

Priority Designs' contribution to this project included ergonomic research, conceptual development, 3D CAD modeling, engineering, logo design, package design and overseas vendor coordination

For more information about STX Lacrosse products go to www.stxlacrosse.com.