Aerodynamic Eyewear Takes Off With Autodesk Design Suite

London-based Marcello Martino Design (Martino) uses Autodesk Design Suite from Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) to create exclusive eyewear for auto enthusiasts, premier luxury brands, celebrities, and an upcoming line of elite eyewear, mmiwear.

Autodesk Design Suite1 — which includes AutoCAD, Autodesk SketchBook Designer, Autodesk Showcase, Autodesk 3ds Max Design and Autodesk Alias Design software — provides Martino with the practical elements needed to fully design its aerodynamic sunglasses, resulting in a more seamless workflow and better cost controls.

Creative Director Marcello Martino will participate in a panel discussion at Autodesk’s annual user conference — Autodesk University — in Las Vegas, speaking about his successful experience with Autodesk Design Suite. The customer panel, “Augmenting AutoCAD with Visual Communication and Design Tools,” will take place on November 30, at 5:15 p.m. PT, and will also include representatives from Autodesk Suites customers CannonDesign, Greenlight Motors and Gallagher-Kaiser. Martino also created a custom set of eyewear for Autodesk University to reflect the spirit of the innovative event — every attendee will receive a pair of the uniquely designed glasses.

“From concept sketches to surfaces, production drawing to near-photorealistic visualizations, Autodesk Design Suite supports every step in my design workflow,” said Martino. “With a computer and Autodesk Design Suite, I feel like there’s nothing I cannot do.”

With exclusive eyewear being a current focus, Martino launches his creative process by sketching shapes and forms not commonly associated with eyewear. Using an iterative process, he explores ways to incorporate the forms into a practical product design. Zeroing in on the most promising ideas, he then develops the designs fully.

Enhanced Workflow With Autodesk Design Suite

Martino’s workflow begins in Autodesk SketchBook Designer software. Martino then brings sketches into AutoCAD software, where he defines the dimensions and proportions in 3D. He also begins detailing the functional elements of the eyewear to support ease of manufacture and use.

Taking the design from AutoCAD into Autodesk Alias Design software, Martino develops the complex curving surfaces that make the eyewear so distinctive. At this stage, he moves the design between Alias and AutoCAD products frequently in order to keep the surfaces and functional aspects of the design in harmony.

Autodesk Showcase software enables Martino to quickly produce a near-photorealistic rendering of the eyewear to fine-tune the colors, and it provides a rich visualization for sharing with suppliers. He turns to Autodesk 3ds Max Design software to take visualizations even further by enabling him to place products in a detail-rich scene.

“Marcello Martino Design is seamlessly accelerating its design process,” said Amy Bunszel, vice president of AutoCAD products. “Autodesk Design Suite helps design firms better control costs by accessing many capabilities in a single suite.”