This timepiece project was done in collaboration with All Design Lab. www.alldesignlab.co

We started talking about the possibilities and the direction we wanted to take this concept at the beginning of the process. After a few conversations, we established that the foundation of telling time through hours, minutes, and seconds is consistently there to, in a way, restrict the creative mind and focus the outcome on being a functional object.

While debating how to repurpose this idea of time, we looked at a wide range of timepieces, from classics to the modern-day Apple Watch. We found that time is always told in its restrictive parameters. What if we imagined time centered not around hours but rather moments and habits throughout the day?

This discussion of designing a new way of telling time led to frankly odd talks. It made us really step out of our comfort zone to experiment with this strange idea. The final product, Momentum, focuses on visualizing the passing of time differently. Unlike a traditional watch founded on an hour-based system, Momentum judges the passing of time on how the user spends their day. Based on either positive or negative behaviors, Momentum will rotate faster or slower, visualizing to the user that their time is either being seized or wasted.

Repurposing Time

Functionally we needed to figure out how Momentum would work. With this very abstract method of telling time, we saw it fit to base our design around a patterned texture. Something that would lead to natural visual complexity that might compliment the abstract idea.

Inspired by the Stem Player by Kanye West and Kano, we designed this concept with the idea of retelling time, much in the way the inspiration retells music. We designed the case and strap with the notion of soft forms. Something that felt malleable and wearable, which could blend into the user's body.

Momentum features 45 individual fins that move up and down and spin together at varying speeds. These fins together showcase the momentum of the user's actions throughout the day.

Momentum features a magnetically attached case and a unibody textured silicone strap. The idea around separating the case and the strap is to allow the user to wear time as they would like, either on their wrist or perhaps in their pocket, on their clothing, etc. As much as this concept is dedicated to showcasing time in a new way, Momentum is also a kinetic sculpture. A product meant to attract subtle attention.

Building Positive Momentum

The concept we built for this month focuses on telling a deeper design story. Momentum concentrates on creating a "positive" object that will generate some new thoughts and discussions in the community. Building just another watch would create nothing, nor would it challenge us to grow.

With Momentum, we focused on telling time in a new way. Based on the habits many of us see as positive (exercising, having lunch, meditating), Momentum would keep a healthy rotational speed. This would indicate to the user that they living on a beneficial rhythm. Momentum would speed up if the user decides to spend time carelessly (scrolling Tiktok, sitting for too long, working late). This rapid rotational speed would indicate to the user that they are wasting their time.