360 Depict: See the Difference. Sell the Value.
The 3D simulation tool that shows the real thickness of every lens before it's made.
When customers choose a lens, they often decide based on price alone. But one factor has a direct impact on how that lens looks and feels: its thickness. The higher the prescription, the thicker the lens tends to be, and that thickness affects both aesthetics and comfort.
This is where the material's refractive index and thickness optimisation technologies come into play. The refractive index indicates how well a material bends light: the higher the index, the thinner the lens can be for the same prescription. Thickness optimisation technologies, in turn, reduce thickness even further through specific designs.
The challenge is that it's very hard to explain in words why a higher index or a thickness optimisation technology calls for a bigger investment. 360 Depict was created to solve exactly that. It's a 3D thickness consultant that drives value selling through thickness simulation and comparison, making the case for a higher investment clear at a glance.
Huge room for growth
Horizons order data1 shows that only 2% of orders use high indices (1.7+), despite their aesthetic benefits, and that thickness optimisation technologies such as ThinMax account for an average of just 9% of all progressive lens orders. The potential for growth is enormous: when wearers understand and see the benefit, they choose higher-value lenses.
1 HO order data, 2020–22
Real-time calculation using the customer's actual data
Unlike a generic illustration or a visual approximation, 360 Depict calculates the lens based on real physical calculations: the customer's prescription, the frame, the optical centres, and the material's index. The result isn't an approximate rendering. It's a simulation of the lens exactly as it will be made.
What's more, the system utilises a single initial calculation (based on this real data) to generate all subsequent comparisons, which keeps the process quick and seamless at the point of sale.
Compare multiple options at once
[Image pending: lens comparison screens]
Here's one of the key differences: 360 Depict doesn't show just one lens. It lets you compare two pairs of lenses side by side, with different indices and technologies, on a single screen. Customers can see how the same prescription looks with a standard index versus a higher one, or with and without a thickness optimisation technology, and understand visually why one option is better than the other.
This instant visual argument is what makes the step up to a higher index or technology feel natural and justified.
How it works
[Image pending: step-by-step screens]
Three ways to implement it
360 Depict can be implemented in three ways, adapting to the way each lab or distributor operates:
- Standalone: runs independently, for those who want the tool up and running right away.
- Integrated with INVISION® Fit AI: our smart centration device, automatically pulling in the customer's actual centration data.
- Integrated into the ordering software (LMS): built into the lab's own ordering system (LMS), without leaving its usual workflow.
Value for everyone
For the business, 360 Depict helps sell more high-index lenses and premium technologies, drives consultative selling because wearers understand why a lens costs more, and turns every request into an opportunity to guide them through their decision.
For wearers, being able to see and understand the look and comfort of their lens before buying it changes the decision entirely. They no longer choose on price alone, but with the confidence of knowing exactly what they're buying and why.
Ultimately, 360 Depict turns a conversation that's hard to explain into something you can see, understand, and decide on with confidence.
As we like to say at Horizons: seeing is believing, and believing is buying.
Abril Ripoll, Product Specialist