Lens-First Architecture
A frame is only truly designed when it stably supports prescription optics without distortion, maintaining vertex distance and pantoscopic tilt on varied face profiles.
Since 1950s Optical workshop craftsmanship & lens edging
30+ Years Direct optical retail customer diagnosis
20+ Years Global eyewear exhibition in Paris & Milan
Multiple Patents Screwless hinges, soft-lock cables & sunshields
Design & Engineering Philosophy
The Foundation Behind Urband International
Yang Wah Kiang’s career did not originate on styling sketchpads; it began inside a lens-grinding workshop in Singapore. For B2B optical buyers, distributors, and retail chains, this foundational heritage ensures that every frame in the Urband portfolio is engineered from the lens groove outward to solve real daily wear issues.
Problem-Solving Design
Having served optical retail wearers for over three decades, Yang designs against actual daily failure points: loose screws, temple strain, pressure sores, and nose bridge slippage.
Engineering Before Styling
Every hinge interface, nylon cord connection, and nose pad assembly represents a mechanical decision engineered to absorb real lateral stress and repeated flex cycles.
Long-Term IP Integrity
Original concepts are protected through registered patents and trademarks, guaranteeing international wholesale buyers exclusivity, continuous evolution, and documented provenance.
Chapter 01: The Optical Artisan
Learning Eyewear from the Lens Edge
In 1950s Singapore, Yang Wah Kiang began his optical journey in his father's workshop. In an era when automatic edgers were nonexistent, every lens had to be cut, beveled, and polished by hand against abrasive wheels, with calipers and trial frames verifying millimeter tolerances.
This artisanal apprenticeship instilled an indelible rule: a frame is not merely a fashion accessory; it is a precision medical retaining device. If a frame front deforms under tension, lens alignment is compromised, inducing astigmatic aberration and wearer fatigue.
Delivering finished spectacles by bicycle across the city, Yang witnessed how microscopic adjustments impacted real people. This fundamental understanding of the lens-to-rim relationship continues to define the dimensional stability of Urband's wholesale collections today.
Chapter 02: Three Decades Behind the Counter
Direct Insights from Optical Retail Practice
In 1960, Yang co-founded Nanyang Optical in Singapore, expanding the enterprise into a respected retail chain over thirty years. This period provided an invaluable testing laboratory: direct customer feedback across generations of diverse prescription wearers.
Behind the dispensing counter, Yang analyzed why certain frames were returned repeatedly. Conventional hinges worked loose as screws unthreaded; soldered joints snapped under lateral torsion; heavy acetate fronts slid down low nasal bridges; and children frequently broke rigid temples during school activities.
Yang realized that retail returns were rarely dispensing faults, but structural engineering shortcomings. For distributors and retail buyers, Urband’s frames embody this retail empathy, resulting in reduced counter adjustments, minimal post-purchase returns, and high customer retention.
Chapter 03: The Maker & Global Builder
From Dispensing to International Creation
Driven to resolve persistent frame limitations, Yang founded Eye-Biz in 2000, pivoting from retailer to proprietary eyewear manufacturer. In 2002, he established a specialized design and R&D center in Japan, focusing on precision micro-components, beta-titanium resilience, and high-density polymer molding.
To integrate European aesthetic culture with Asian ergonomic precision, Yang established Urband France near Paris in 2005. This strategic triangle—Singapore commercial precision, French design aesthetics, and Japanese engineering discipline—positions Urband International uniquely in the global eyewear supply chain.
For more than two decades, Yang has consistently exhibited at premier optical trade forums, including SILMO Paris and MIDO Milan, ensuring the company’s product roadmap aligns precisely with international regulatory requirements, distributor margins, and evolving consumer ergonomics.
Patented Structural Innovations
Engineering Solutions to Structural Wearer Problems
Every patented mechanism developed by Yang Wah Kiang originated from a specific mechanical challenge observed in the field. Rather than cosmetic ornamentation, each invention delivers measurable durability advantages for B2B supply chains.
Patented Connection Method
Nylon Cord Soft-Lock Architecture
Replaces rigid barrel hinge screws and solder points with high-tensile nylon cord threading through an 8-hole precision matrix. Under severe lateral force, the temple flexes and rebounds naturally without stripped threads or shearing.
Key Application: EYELET Pediatric & Active Sports collections.
French & China Patents
Active Hinge & U-Shape Impact Dissipation
Engineered without removable screws, this proprietary hinge mechanism allows controlled movement beyond the 90-degree opening angle, progressively absorbing mechanical energy and returning the temple to precise optical alignment.
Key Application: Flexible schoolwear, youth eyewear, and sports optics.
Integrated Ergonomics
Safety Nose Pads & Sunplus Clip Architecture
Custom anatomical nose pads distribute mass evenly across flatter nasal bridges without uncomfortable pinching. Co-developed with the Sunplus system, prescription frames securely integrate polarized solar protection without frame scratching.
Key Application: Pediatric vision care and family sun protection.
Intellectual Property
Stewardship & Global Brand Protection
Active registration of patents, industrial designs, and trademarks across China, France, and international jurisdictions shields Urband's optical distributors from unauthorized knock-offs, guaranteeing stable wholesale margins.
Key Application: URBAND PARIS, EYELET, GLOSSI, and COUPLE brand protection.
Chapter 04: Mentorship & Standards
Educating the Next Generation of Optical Designers
To Yang Wah Kiang, genuine leadership requires transmitting industrial knowledge forward. His enduring educational collaboration with technical institutions in Singapore, such as Tanjong Katong School, nurtures hands-on design understanding among emerging talent.
In his lectures and design workshops, Yang emphasizes that genuine innovation begins with material behavior and real user challenges rather than digital renderings alone. By teaching students to verify structural tolerances and respect lens geometry, he fosters a mindset rooted in practical durability.
His keynote presentation at the 24th China Scientists Forum reinforced this ethos: framing eyewear as an essential ergonomic and structural health instrument. This perspective guides Urband's research labs as they engineer lighter, safer, and more resilient optical systems.
Partner With Optical Pioneers
Build Your Optical Collection on Documented Heritage
From independent optical boutiques to multinational optical retail groups, partnering with Urband International connects your business directly with multi-patented mechanisms, award-winning French-Japanese design, and documented compliance.