LensCrafters Logo PNG
The LensCrafters logo speaks of love for customers and their eyes. The stores will pick up the necessary accessories to restore vision. The emblem conveys the return of clarity and bright colors in the surrounding world, made possible by optics.
LensCrafters: Brand overview
Dean Butler came to optics from Procter & Gamble, where he spent 14 years managing Ivory liquid soap, Cheer detergent, and Folger’s instant coffee. In the late 1970s, he helped former P&G colleague John Cutrer launch Eye Masters in Baton Rouge, one of the first optical stores to promise glasses in about 1 hour.
The timing mattered. The Federal Trade Commission required optometrists to provide patients with their prescriptions, and courts allowed advertising of optical services. Those changes paved the way for mall-based optical stores with a wide selection of frames, in-store lens labs, and faster service. Eyelab in New Jersey moved early, but Butler wanted a broader retail format.
In March 1983, Butler opened the first Precision LensCrafters store in Florence, Kentucky, near Cincinnati. The name was later shortened to LensCrafters. The brand’s core promise was “glasses in about an hour.” The store had its own lens-grinding lab, offered a 30-day money-back guarantee, and matched competitors’ prices. In its first year, one store brought in $2 million.
In 1984, with only 3 stores, Butler sold the company to United States Shoe Corporation and stayed as CEO. By 1987, LensCrafters had about 350 stores, $305 million in revenue, and had passed Pearle Vision Centers in the U.S. market. Luxottica bought LensCrafters in 1995 and used it as its main U.S. retail arm alongside brands such as Ray-Ban, Persol, Giorgio Armani, and Chanel. Following the 2018 merger between Luxottica and Essilor, LensCrafters became part of EssilorLuxottica.
Meaning and History
The idea of retailing medical glasses came to Dean Butler in 1983 and generated millions in profits within a year. But the businessman, seeing even greater prospects, sold his offspring to US Shoe a year later, which helped Butler, who remained at the head for another four years, expand the business, raising its profitability from 2 to 305 million dollars and increasing the number of stores from 3 to 350. In 1992, the company became the leader in sales in the United States, which attracted the attention of the global giant Luxottica, which acquired US Shoe in 1995 for its optics division. In 2018, Luxottica merged with the French firm Essilor to form the EssilorLuxottica Corporation, and in 2021, it completely absorbed Essilor.
The company logo changed only once, but dramatically. The update reflected a change in ownership, who came to the company with a different marketing approach and already established values.
What is LensCrafters?
The American division of the Italian eyewear corporation Luxottica is headquartered in Ohio. It has 1266 stores, most of which are located in the US.
1983 – 2003
The LensCrafters logo consists of the brand name and an image. The name translates as “lens makers.” The two parts of the word “lenses” and “artisans” can be seen through different spellings. The first part has straight strict capital letters. The second is made in the same font but in italics. The slope of the word Crafters to the right shows the constant growth in artisans’ skills and knowledge, their movement in step with the times, and the development of new products and technologies. This allows them to create reliable, high-quality glasses, as evidenced by the reference position of the word “Lens”. It also symbolizes a consistently high level of quality. As proof of its competence, the brand refunded customers within 30 days of production if they were dissatisfied.
Before the name, there is a schematic representation of the dial, partially covered by the letter L. The division equal to the hour is marked in red on the dial. One of Butler’s marketing gimmicks was a promise to deliver glasses within an hour. That’s what the watch says. All necessary operations, from eye examinations to fitting lenses and placing them in frames, were carried out on-site while customers shopped, since the outlets were located in shopping centers.
The watch also hinted at rapid growth: in 1986, 2 outlets appeared every week!
The title’s red underline enhanced the sense of movement and speed, supporting the “points per hour” idea.
2003 – today
In 1995, the company changed hands. And after a while, the visual sign was revised as well. The intense competition in the retail niche required a change in approach. It was important to remove the conveyor feeling and focus on professionalism and emotional closeness to customers.
Therefore, the new visual sign has become friendlier and has lost the sense of speed and reference to time. Now he carries a positive message, encrypted as a rebus. The image of the eye and heart after the brand name reads: “love to see.” Using glasses from the company, you can see the world in all colors and enjoy life. Another reading of the encrypted message: “LensCrafters loves eyes.” Cares for eyesight and helps clients see well.
Sometimes a different style is used, with the eye, heart, and letters LC above the name, which expands the reading: “love to see with LensCrafters” or “Eyes love LensCrafters.”
All associations of the logo carry the idea of love, the company’s concern for customers’ vision, and the information that the brand’s products are perfect for the eyes.
Font and Colors
Primary colors:
- Saturated dark blue and red in the first logo reflected the idea of dynamism, rapid development, and the provision of a professionally made product in a short time.
- Blue – the color of clarity and transparency, which is the epitome of good vision.
- Red – the energy of love and care.
- Hemp is a gray color with very little red undertones. Gray is obtained by mixing red, green, and blue: passion, life, and dreams. It means fundamental values, stability, and constancy. The company’s vision with glasses is invariably 100%. A slight excess of red indicates that love, energy, and care are the company’s predominant values. In addition, hemp is a very popular plant for producing environmentally friendly fabrics. They are durable, hypoallergenic, and pleasant on the body, just like the brand’s safe glasses; they do not cause discomfort and wear well.
The font of the second edition of the logo was chosen from the Optima Nova Light family.