Using simple in and out of focus text, the Warby Parker campaign, “What if this was difficult to see?”centers around making our visual culture one that is difficult to comprehend for the everyday viewer. This experiment intends to impact the way people learn, work, relax, and interact socially in order to bring awareness to the 2.5 billion people around the world who need glasses but do not have access to them. 

     The campaign visually mimics the experience of taking off and putting on glasses. It takes two approaches. First, an advertisement driven campaign that takes place on social media and digital billboards. A question is posed first out of focus and then in, “what if this post was difficult to see?” or “what if this billboard was difficult to read?” The question goes out of focus, and only the website linking to Warby Parker’s philanthropy is in focus.

     The second portion of the campaign is a social stunt. A large glass screen with a projection is placed in between the viewer and the object of their gaze. At first, the glass is opaque, similar to frosted glass, and then the blurriness is lifted to expose a question. This is followed by a statistic and the website link. These screens are placed strategically where it affects education, productivity, and recreation. After the message is displayed for a few seconds, the glass screen clears completely revealing the objects behind. The social stunt presents the loss of time, the obstacles, and the inconveniences that millions face.

     The entire campaign aims to bring awareness to the impaired vision problems and how Warby Parker is trying to make a difference.

Compilation of the campaign, "What if this was hard to see?" for Warby Parker's buy-a-pair, give-a-pair program. A social media post is intermixed with advertisements.