Octave
An optician’s flagship that feels like a listening room, not a clinic.
- What we made
- Retail space
- Sector
- Opticians
- City
- Paris
- Year
- 2025
The brief
A group of independent Paris opticians wanted a flagship in the Marais and a shop system for smaller stores. Their shops were bright, white and full of drawers nobody opened.
Choosing glasses is choosing a face. Nobody wants to do that under clinic lights.
Measure: research
We watched people try on frames in six shops and asked what they looked for in the mirror. They wanted soft light, a friend’s opinion and time, not a sales pitch.
Pattern: strategy
Octave treats eyewear like music: something you try, listen to and take home. The shop is a room for trying on faces, with an expert who has time.
ArchetypeSage, with a Lover’s eye
Fit: identity
Fitting booths with soft light and deep mirrors, thin art deco lettering, a lens motif for signs and cases, and aubergine with mint that reads calm, not clinical.
- Typeface
- Poiret One
- Palette
- #4A1D46
- #BFF0DA
- #F4D7E8
- #2A0F28
Finish: toolkit
A flagship design book, a modular fixture system for smaller stores, case and bag packaging, and a service guide for opticians.
The result
The Marais flagship opened as a place people visit before they need glasses, and the fixture system is rolling out to the smaller shops.