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Design Concepts: Futuristic Clocks

by Matthew Zuras on December 9, 2009 at 01:01 PM


The Web is teeming with the unrealized ideas of both students and established designers who set out to produce astonishing renderings and prototypes for unusual products. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time, money, or technology, many of those products never move from the planning stages to the mass market. But that doesn't mean we can't salivate over their creations, nonetheless.

In this week's installment of design ideas, we'll be showcasing some of our favorite recent clock concepts. While the modern age has depreciated the value the uni-tasker clock previously afforded us, designers seem to love all things horological, as do we. Sure, you can always peek at a cell phone or myriad other devices that tell time. But there is something -- excuse the pun -- timeless about clocks themselves (and, of course, watches -- but that's another post) that serves for inventive redesign. Now, clocks free themselves from the necessity of being purely functional, and are able to be beautiful, experimental objects.


Milky Way Alarm Clock by Henrik Amberla

Henrik Amberla's rendering for the Milky Way Alarm Clock makes us positively ache at the fact that this is only a concept. The beautifully helical form is space-age without being gimmicky -- the shape describes more of an à la mode bangle than something as pedestrian as an alarm clock. But the Milky Way is functional, too; to enter Snooze mode, just flip the whole thing over.


Switchital by Matthias Pugin

By far one of the coolest clock concepts we've seen, Matthias Pugin's rendering for the Switchital clock blends analog mechanics with digital aesthetics. Magnets within the casing of the clock control small metal bars that mimic the segmented cells of a traditional LED clock. As the time changes, the magnets move the bars to the correct position. Words fail us in describing the awesomeness of Switchital further, so check out this video to see it in action.


Hour///Gras Living Wall Clock by J Yu

The minute and hour "hands" of J Yu's Hour///Gras Living Wall Clock do more than simply represent the time -- their razor-sharp edges clip a mounted bed of grass. With this oh-so-futuristic concept, sleek meets eco-friendly in a way that reminds us of the oxygen garden in 'Sunshine.' If the user chooses to employ wheatgrass, the clippings can be eaten with no waste, while regular grass can be composted. Hour///Gras cleverly makes us want to put the breaks on our hyper-caffeinated lives, and simply watch the grass grow.


Log Clock by Piotr Stolarski

Sometimes the most innovative designs are the most primitive. Piotr Stolarski of Polish design firm Gogo designed the whimsically simple Log Clock. Basic, analog clock parts are embedded within raw pinewood planks. When you need a clock, you just saw one off. Decorate separate clocks yourself, or go über-minimal with the raw look. When we see design like this, we wonder why we ever write about digital gadgets in the first place.


Route O'Clock by Goldsmiths University

In collaboration with UK broadband provider TalkTalk, designers from Goldsmiths University of London were put to the challenge of making a better Internet router. One such design, Route O'Clock, visually displays the constantly shifting signal strength of your broadband connection, effectively showing you what times are best for surfing the Net. This dual functionality of Route O'Clock makes for a quirky but necessary gadget for any serious downloader -- too bad it's not going into production.

Tags: alarmclock, clocks, concepts, design, designconcepts, features, prototype, top

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