GYRE is a hybrid watch that combines the classic and traditional nature of the analogue system with the flexibility and dynamism of digital systems. It is the second concept I am attempting in the Analogue + Digital synthesis (ADS) Series. The first being the Dreyfuss Retro-Futurist Phone Concept. The objective of this series is to explore design solutions that optimally combine the intrinsic strengths of analogue systems with that of digital systems.

 

Design Inspiration and Direction

The GYRE Hybrid watch concept is inspired by the ingenious space management of the 2013 Honda CR-V and the 2010 Toyota Corolla instrument clusters which have digital displays at the center of the speedometer and odometer. This setup not only saves space, it creates a clean design and limitless potential of UX/UI design exploration.

The interface of the traditional analogue clock consists of: the face, the hands,and the dials. The operation of these components can be classified into the redundant and active regions. The outer region which consists of the tips of the hands and dials is called active because it is the only area that tells time. As seen in the Honda CR-V Speedometer, the center of the clock can be replaced with a screen without compromising the primary function of time telling.

GYRE replaces the spindle, which the clocks hands are hitherto connected to, with planetary gears that orbits the hands in a manner of gyre. Hence the name. This set-up leaves a void center for mounting the electronics for the digital systems.

 

Ideation and Development Sketches (Analogue Watch)

The project began with a few ideation sketches for the analogue watch since the design direction was quite defined and straightforward. Hence I moved quickly to development sketches where product architecture, components, mechanisms, forms, and materials were further defined before moving to CAD modeling and renders.

 

Ideation and Development Sketch with CAD Drawings (Digital Watch)

The digital watch is made of an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display, Bluetooth Wireless Connection, PCBs, and Li-ion Battery that is charged via a terminals behind the watch. The digital watch’s main function is that of displaying custom functions and notifications to the user. The user customizes his/her experience via the phone App

Icons and UIs are made as clean and minimal as possible to maximize limited space.

Digital Clock UI Design

The user has the option of choosing between the digital or Analogue watch UI. The  Digital UI has the night and day icons.

As noted in the sketches, the day and night digital clock User Interfaces are given icons to distinguish them from one another. The Day icon is made up of four large triangular protrusions with fours smaller ones. This mimics the sparkle of the sun in minimalist manner. The day represents the time between 6:00 am – 5:59 pm.

Crescent icon representing night time. This is displayed once the digital clock’s selected timezone is at night. This represents 6:00 pm – 5:59 am

Phone Call UI Design

The UI was designed to show the caller ID and duration. The phone icon is designed with concentric arcs.

Music UI Design

The Music User Interface Design focused on four key points:

• Media: This refers to the state of the selected media. When a media is selected but isn’t playing or is stopped, a music beam note icon is displayed at the top section of the circular display. When music starts playing, this changed to the “Play” or “Pause” icon depending on the state.
• Artiste: Artiste of selected song is displayed at the center of the display.
• Track: Track title is displayed at the lower section.
• Progress: An arch that runs at the edge of the display shows the music progress.

This icon is displayed when a music is selected but has not began playing or played music is stopped. White progress bar arch is absent.

This icon is displayed when a music is selected and is being playing.

This icon is displayed when selected music is paused.

Compass UI Design

Weather UI Design