Tag Archives: clock

Floating Marbles help this hypnotic Mobius Calendar tell the date and time in cosmic style

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Our planets, timekeeping, and geometry have had a deep relationship going back thousands of years. The Stonehenge, sundials, and a whole litany of astronomical research from history show how man used a geometric understanding of the earth and the sun to plot hours, days, months, and years. This complex relationship has gotten us to where we are today, and the Mobius Calendar Clock pays tribute to that strong relationship.

Part calendar part clock, this tabletop device comes with a unique sculptural quality that elevates it to the status of objet d’art. Designed to captivate the eye, the Mobius Calendar Clock features a hollow twisted torus on the top, resembling the continuous physical properties of a Mobius strip. Rolling along the mobius’ surface are two marbles, representing the sun as well as the earth, while indicating the date and month of each current day. Right underneath this is a pinhole clock that uses a dotted matrix to also tell the time in its own unique style.

Designer: Zanwen Li

The beauty of the Mobius Calendar Clock lies in just how uniquely it depicts the date on its curved surface. Rather than having a grid with numbers arranged by the week, the clock uses two floating marbles to tell the time. A yellow marble, representing the sun, points at the month, while a blue Earth-like marble points at each day. As days pass, the marbles ‘orbit’ the Mobius, resetting to their original position once the month/year is complete.

Right underneath the calendar is a table clock that uses a retro-inspired dot-matrix-style display to tell the time. As time passes by, the dots either light up or go dark, and our eyes see the collective picture through the Gestalt theories of visual perception, allowing us to perceive numbers.

The Mobius Calendar Clock represents designer Zanwen Li’s approach to iconic detailing beautifully. Originally the creator of the now-popular Heng Balance Lamp, Li relies on the clever use of hollow space, optical illusions, and visual simplicity to make his designs stand out. Quite like the Heng Balance Lamp, the Mobius Calender Clock also has a massive hollow space in its center, and uses a simple yet alluring set of floating ball bearings to magnetically move around the curved Mobius surface of the calendar to indicate the date and month. It’s an interaction that’s beautiful without being complicated, as even children will be able to easily read the date and time on the Mobius Calendar Clock!

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Multifunctional clock moonlights as a security camera when no one is home

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Space is a very precious commodity these days, whether it’s a floor, a desk, or any other surface you can place things. We sometimes have to be smarter about the products we buy, often picking things that can serve more than one purpose while occupying the same space. Some things, however, best serve a single purpose only, though that purpose sometimes loses meaning depending on the day. A clock, for example, should only tell the time, but that function becomes meaningless when no one is around to see it anyway. This concept design thus gives the humble desk clock another function when it’s not in use, merging it with another product that ironically loses its purpose when people are actually home.

Designer: Jungmin Park

There are some products that wouldn’t cross paths under normal circumstances, especially when they have seemingly opposite use cases. A clock, for example, is only meaningful when there are people around to actually look at it. In contrast, a home security camera is most useful when there’s no one around. swap is a design concept that tries to smash these two opposite home products together, creating an object that not only saves space but also changes with the owner’s lifestyle in an almost playful manner.

swap almost looks like a toy at first glance, especially with its pastel colors. It even feels like a toy with the way the circular head flips over like a coin, depending on its mode. One side shows a minimalist analog clock face with no second hand or numbers along the ticks. The other side is a nondescript camera that might be similar to common webcams.

The most interesting part of the concept, however, is how smart swap is, or at least tries to be. It can automatically switch between those two modes, showing the clock when you’re at home and switching to a security camera when you’re out. It mostly does so by detecting the location of your phone on the presumption that if it’s out of the house, you’re most likely out as well. Of course, you can also manually switch between modes or lock the device to a specific mode. There will be an audible notification whenever you switch modes, so you won’t be caught off-guard. There’s also an extra feature where you can display a countdown timer to the next schedule on your phone’s calendar app. This timer is displayed on an LED dot matrix on swap’s body.

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You might not be entirely convinced of the need for combining clock and camera functions, but swap, fortunately, serves another, though indirect, purpose. Given its aesthetic, it can also be a cute decor for your desk or shelf, so you aren’t exactly losing space if you place this multifunctional product somewhere in your home.

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Smart Rubik’s Cube Clock can fast charge three devices, adjust brightness, and display weather updates

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It took me a week and a few YouTube videos to learn how to solve the Rubik’s Cube, but only a quick look to decipher the obvious: the Smart Rubik’s Cube Clock is just the name, it wouldn’t require you to match random colors to tell the time.

As the designer states, the table clock is designed to “subvert the tradition.” What does that mean in context of this clock, if I may decipher, is that you get an aesthetically pleasing block for your nightstand that does more than tell the time in digital format.

Designer: Li Wenkai and Dan Yu

The Smart Rubik’s Cube Clock is integrated with three USB ports for charging as many devices simultaneously. Two physical buttons: Power and Brightness Adjust let you interact with the clock. A notable feature here is the smart brightness adjustment that allows the clock display to be tinkered to the level of glare you desire.

In addition to telling time and fast charging devices (at 20W), the clock can be programmed to set an alarm or connected to the home Wi-Fi to display real-time weather updates. Interestingly, you can set up to ten alarms for your daily schedule with this nifty gadget.

Smart Rubik’s Cube Clock unlike most table clocks is meticulously designed to rest unhindered on a table or nightstand. For stability, the clock has an anti-skid pad on the bottom that prevents it from slipping off.

For the pleasure of the more design-oriented, Wenkai has created the Smart Rubik’s Cube Clock in black and white colors. Overall this concept table clock is feature-packed to make life smarter and easier for modern-day geeks!

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Meet the Time Slider, a retro-inspired pixelated clock to jazz up your space

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Ever since smartphones became ubiquitous, we rarely see actual clocks in houses and offices. In fact, young kids now don’t know how to tell time using analog clocks since they’re so used to just seeing numbers on their screens (look for hilarious videos on Tiktok about this). And if you do have a clock on your walls, it’s the usual ones that you can buy at a store. But if you’re into design and aesthetics, there are some clocks out there that are pretty unique, and some like this, even have a noisy feel that come along with it.

Designer: Hans Andersson

The Time Slider is a clock design that shows four sliders which look like pixels and are actually 3D-printed frames. They move up and down to various positions to show the pixels for a specific digit to tell the specific hour or minute. It is made using an Arduino Mega 2560 board, a real-time clock (RTC) module, motor drivers, wires, and a power supply. The design actually lets you scale up or down to whatever size you want the wall clock to be. It also doesn’t have any buttons to set the time so it must be configured and code uploaded when you set it up.

The other unique thing about this clock design is that it is pretty noisy. Every time it changes the numbers, which is almost every second of course, you get a very distinct, mechanical sound that can sound like an alien trying to make contact with you. So you might not be able to get any sleep the first few days this clock is installed in your house but you will probably, eventually get used to the noise. If not, you probably shouldn’t get this one since you have been “warned” about the sound.

The Time Slider really has a great aesthetic look and the stepper motors and its accompanying sound gives it an even better feel (if you can stand the noise). The fact that it’s also a 3D printed device and is an Arduino product, which is pretty popular with a certain crowd, adds even more to the appeal for those looking to bring back an actual clock to their space.

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DIY wall clock is an enchanting way to tell time using prismatic lights

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Clocks, especially the ones we put up on walls, are no longer the single-function products of ages past. Many of them also serve as decorations, sometimes to the point that telling the time has become secondary and almost optional. That’s the case for some clocks that look stunning in terms of aesthetics but sometimes at the expense of easy readability of the time. Given how wall clocks are rarely used to accurately read the time down to the minute, however, that shouldn’t be a problem for most cases anyway. That, in turn, allows for a lot more freedom in how to represent time. This beautiful DIY project, for example, almost completely does away with the convention of distinct clock hands, instead using different hues of light to let you eyeball the time to some extent.

Designer: David Tweeto

Like many DIY wall clock projects, this Decorative Analog Clock involves quite a number of small electronics, wiring, and a bit of 3D printing. As the name suggests, however, this clock bucks the trend of defaulting to a digital presentation and clings to the analog way of telling time, at least in theory. In reality, it is completely driven by software, and the three distinct light colors each tell a different aspect of the time, just like physical hands.

Instead of ticking gears, the Decorative Analog LED Strip IoT Clock uses a small microchip that syncs with NTP (Network Time Protocol) server to know the time. This also controls a strip of 120 LEDs that is folded to form 60 pairs of LEDs back to back, running the strip inside a wide wooden ring that serves as the “face” of the clock. Although it would have been easier to 3D print a plastic ring cover, wood had the advantage of not only looking more stylish but also preventing the light from bleeding through.

The light uses the three primary colors of light (not pigment) to indicate time. Red is used to tell the seconds, and it only shines outward from the rim. Green is for the minutes, and its short light is also on the outer periphery of the circle. Finally, blue stands for the hour, and it is the only one that shines inside the hole of the ring.

In practice, this light analog clock isn’t exactly good at giving you the exact time since the lights can occupy more than just a single “tick” in the clock. It can still give you a general idea, though, which is what analog wall clocks are often used for anyway. As mentioned, the actual clock feature becomes secondary with these decorative clocks, and this DIY project definitely fulfills the primary purpose with much success, especially when the lights are dimmed. It creates a beautiful splash of colors on your wall, serving as a piece of light art that some might not even associate with a clock, even with the red light moving around the circle every second.

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L’Epée’s WWII grenade-inspired table clock substantiates perpetuity of time and unpredictability of life

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Life is so unpredictably unexpected! While you don’t need a ticking timebomb under your seat to remind you of that; luxury watchmaker L’Epée thinks a pinned grenade should sit on your desk to substantiate the perpetuity of time and unpredictability of life.

To that accord, L’Epée 1839 has toured back in time to realize the Grenade clock, which borrows its essence from the historical MKII grenade linked to misdeeds from World War II.

Designer: L’Epée 1839

Generally, the word grenade instills a sense of fear and discomfort but the L’Epée’s Grenade is a comforting testament of horology meeting art at its inventive best.

Placed on the table, this 5-inch-tall clock is nearly the size and dimension of the actual MKII grenade, and a reminder of its historic inclination. A timepiece worth its aesthetics, the L’Epée’s Grenade clock features a vertical movement in the center (visible in its entirety) that runs the two black-colored rotating aluminum disk on top: one displaying the hours and the other denoting elapsed minutes.

A grenade without its safety pin would be worth its faded life in time. L’Epée Grenade clock ensures it is instinctively built on a live grenade core with a pin that pulls out to set the time or to wind its movement for an eight-day time cycle.

If the appearance of a grenade on your desk is not going to be a put-off; the Grenade clock should find its place on your work table as a subjective reminder of the unpredictable life and its passing phases. To match up with your mood and décor, the clock is available in eight color options with each limited to only 99 examples.

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This mouse and table clock join to form a cozy egg-shaped decor for your desk

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The computer mouse is one of those things that shouldn’t make sense when you think hard about it, and yet it has become a staple of the modern world. Even with laptops that carry touchpads, some people still prefer to use a mouse with a laptop, even if it’s not the most ergonomic thing to do. There have been attempts to change the mouse’s image and design, creating forms that are almost out of this world. This concept design doesn’t stray that far from the traditional shape of the computer peripheral, but it still makes some changes that give it a better aesthetic, especially when it’s paired with its table clock twin.

Designer: Juwon Lee (Dawn BYSJ)

You won’t always be using the mouse all of the time, like when you’ve already stepped away from the desk and have shut down the computer. During these “off times,” the mouse sits pretty much useless on the table, like a mound of plastic that breaks the appealing flatness of the desk’s surface. It wouldn’t be much of a problem if the mouse’s design was something you could call decorative as well, but very few mice are like that.

The SEEK concept design tries to change the identity of the computer mouse a bit by giving it another function even when it’s not in use. The upper surface of the mouse that connects with your hand is covered with a fabric-like material, not unlike those found wrapped around smart speakers. It’s questionable whether using such a material is smart, considering how much dirt and sweat are likely to accumulate there, but it’s hard to deny that it looks stylish. It’s also possible to use some antimicrobial fabric, too, or any other elegant material that looks good and feels good in the hand as well.

While the mouse already looks pretty when left on a desk as normal, its real decorative value comes from joining with its other half. SEEK’s other half is a table clock that stands upright in contrast to the mouse’s horizontal position. The back of the clock is covered with the same fabric material and color as the mouse, while its front has the same terrazzo-like surface as the bottom of the mouse. The embedded monochromatic display gives the clock a minimalist appeal, and like the mouse, it can already stand on its own as a decorative table piece.

When joined together, though, SEEK becomes this curious egg-shaped, fabric-wrapped object that could evoke metaphors on incubation, warmth, patience, and the like. Of course, it’s also a beautiful object that adds a cozy accent to your desk, something that you might want to see after a long day of work or before you start your day. Joining these two halves together could even become a ritual for ending your work day, symbolizing putting a close to the work you’ve done and letting it bear fruit and hatch on the next day.

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Tempo helps you schedule your day with a more realistic linear mindset

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Many things in life seem to happen in cycles, from the movement of the Earth and the moon to the changing of seasons to the cycle of day and night. These natural events give us the impression that time itself is also cyclical, but spiritual beliefs aside, the reality is far harsher and crueler. We can never reclaim lost time, and the time passed is forever gone. Thanks to this discrepancy of concepts, not to mention the design of analog clocks, many people, unfortunately, develop an almost carefree attitude towards planning and executing their days, postponing and procrastinating on tasks simply because they presume the opportunity will come again. That’s the mindset that this concept device tries to shatter by forcing you to see a day for what it really is, moving forward with or without you.

Designer: Ahmet Berat Akyol

Time pretty much flows in a linear fashion, and there’s really no going back, no matter how science fiction (or even science) may want to make us believe. Maybe in the distant future, we will figure out how to bend time to our will, but for now, we have to live with the cold fact that time lost is lost forever. Unfortunately, many of the tools that we have today seem to dance around that concept or even encourage less productive mindsets. If tomorrow is just another day, we might as well put off today’s tasks for tomorrow, right?

Of course, our lives don’t work that way, and Tempo tries to reinforce the correct idea of how time works by visualizing it not as a 12-hour or even 24-hour clock but as a single, straight, unidirectional line. This way, people will be forced to face the tempo, or rather the music, for what it is, something that you can never recover once passed. Hopefully, facing this reality will also force them to be more mindful and appreciative of the time they have.

As for its design, Tempo is simply a bar with rounded ends inspired by devices like smart speakers and soundbars, a common appearance in many homes today. It has a flat surface on top with a touch screen that shows the flow of time as a straight line with a series of small or large circles corresponding to tasks you have scheduled for the day. In a way, it resembles music visualizers that similar show sounds as a line broken by waves whose height depends on the intensity of the beat.

Tempo does have the character of a musical interface, which is apt for both its name as well as the similarity of beats to the passage of time. It’s arguable whether such a device can help you become a more productive person or reduce your procrastination, but it’s still an interesting insight into how we often view time and take it for granted.

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Wall-clock with built-in task-board lets you be more efficient with your time

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Someone should seriously make a whiteboard clock at this point, because this sounds like just a really smart idea. Meet Task Time, a clock with a set of magnets that let you assign tasks at certain times of the day in an incredibly analog way. You don’t need to bust your phone out and access the alarm or the calendar. You don’t need to tell Siri or Google to remind you to do something. Just make a note of it on the Task Time’s legend on the side, and pick up a corresponding magnet and place it on the clock. The colorful magnets become indicators of when you need to start a task, helping you efficiently manage your time in a wonderful low-tech way.

Designer: Dominic

While the Task Time seems like a rather simple idea and an elementary device, it has a great amount of appeal and versatility if you think of its applications. Sure, it makes for a great task clock while at work (even though you’d much rather use an online calendar service) but it also acts as a wonderful educational toy for children, allowing them to learn how to read time. Imagine a Task Time in a school, with different magnets indicating the different periods of the day. The child uses them as visual indicators to help understand how a day is split between story time, playtime, lunchtime, nap time, and home time. The visual dots help make the entire ordeal more interesting and easy to understand too, whether you’re a 6-year old learning how to read a clock or a 30-year old using the Task Time as your personal Pomodoro Timer to help boost your efficiency and productivity!

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haoshi’s Crinkle Clock is a minimalist wall-clock that tells the time through light, shadow, and texture

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With no markings and with hands that are exactly the same color as the clock’s body, the only way the Crinkle Paper X CLOCK tells the time is by using dramatic lighting. The timepiece comes with an aggressively textured body looking almost like crushed paper, atop which sit pristine, flat-surface hands. To tell the time, all you have to do is look for the flat surface against the crinkled crushed one. Boasting of an experience unlike any other, the Crinkle Paper X CLOCK is best kept in a place that receives dramatic light, for the most rewarding time-telling experience!

Designer: haoshi design

There’s an elegance to the Crinkle Paper X CLOCK’s design that makes it almost unintuitive to use. Most clocks try to present the time in a way that’s easier to read, but the Crinkle Paper X CLOCK does no such thing. Instead, it actively makes you spend more time trying to figure out the time. You’re forced to stare at the clock for a little longer than necessary, and as a result, you end up admiring its details, appreciating the texture, and the contrast the texture brings.

The clock’s white-on-white design is minimalism at its best, although this is the kind of minimalism that directly clashes with utility. It isn’t possible to read the time under quite a few scenarios, and chances are you’ll find yourself walking over to the clock to get a clearer view… but therein lies the Crinkle Paper X Clock’s beauty. It forces you to stop and take stock of your life, to take an extra few seconds and breathe instead of rushing through the day.

The wall clock comes with a body crafted from resin and paper pulp. This combination of materials is what gives the Crinkle Paper X Clock its unique translucency that feels extremely paper-like. Two flat-cut plastic hands sit on top, rotating to tell the time against the highly textured background.

This isn’t Taiwan-based haoshi design‘s first foray into the timepiece area. Known for its quirky designs that make use of animals, haoshi’s worked on wonderful wall clocks that incorporate birds into them, and even goldfish!

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