Abstract Clock
Prompt
In order to complete this assignment you are invited to think of time expansively and alternatively, moving beyond conventional time keeping units. What are other ways in which you can mark the passage of time? What if time itself were turned on its head, driven not by standard time-keeping units, but perhaps subjective, personal, or even irrational organization?
Process
With the prompt given, I thought of ways I could display time that is meaningful to me. I came up with 3 ideas which can be seen below
Initial Design
Bear Clock
Somedays it is hard for me to stay motivated, so I thought of a clock design that will motivate me to get up and do work. In my Thai culture, pointing is something extremely rude and usually signifies that something has to be done. I wanted the clock to look cute, but also intimidating at the same time. So, I designed the bear clock which has its tongue spinning every second, to me, this causes me anxiety. I then added the bear's pointing hand to call my attention that the time is not waiting. I thought changing the bear's face from light to dark would be a good way to show that it's night time.
However, this clock was not selected because I thought I could push my creative boundaries further.
Sun Clock
This clock encourages me to think positively rather than cause anxiety to push me to work. One way I keep track of time is through the sun. During 2016-2019 I was suffering from depression and I always felt extremely bad at night. Although I have recovered, this feeling still lingers. I wanted to create a clock to remind me that, even though it is not bright out right now, the sun is still shining in another region on earth. The sunrays changes from yellow to orange as the day pass and each second, the rocketship moves around the sun.
I did not proceed with this clock as my classmate and I thought that my last idea was more creative.
Abstract Clock - The final selection
I wanted to create a clock that is more abstract, something that would be hard for me to associate it with time. However, I still want to be able to gauge whether I am completing all my tasks before my bed time. I plan my days in 6 hours intervals: 6 hours in the morning to work, 6 hours in the afternoon to complete personal things, 6 hours to wind down before sleep, and 6 hours of sleep time. That became the anchor point of the design, I knew that the shape has to change colors every 6 hours. But, I only wanted three colors so that it will obscure which section of the day I was in. I started with a square shape as the hour timer.
I wanted to create an illusion that looked pretty as time pass, so I created a flower-like shape as the seconds timer. A new petal is added every second, creating a full flower at the end. I liked that the flower slightly obscures the view of the hour squares. Lastly, I added a circle shape around the second and hour timer. The circle's interior changes as each minute pass by. It is interesting that my classmate said it looked like a snake is slithering in the circle shape.
Day Time View
Night Time View
How might it alter the way I track time?
For the purpose of this project, I added a digital representation of time (i.e. 3:03pm ) so that professors and classmate could understand it better. However, this new abstract clock truly obscures how much time has passed. Without the digital time presented, I believe that this clock will allow me to track my day in 6 hours interval. I can gauge whether it is day or evening time by the background color that switches from navy to black. I trult believe I will be less anxious about time looking at this abstract clock.
Reflection
Time is a social construct. Humans have created a systems of meanings that have created the consruct of time. The growth of technology such as railway systems contributed to the construct of time, presenting the need to standardize time. Through innovation, we arrive at today's system of time and timezones. ("The Social Construct of Time", 2016)
Through my design process, I learned that time can actually be presented in many ways and does not necessarily need to follow the current social norms of keeping time. By looking at my classmate's clock design, I learned that different symbols and designs can represent time as long as it is meaningful to the viewer. For me, time has always been scary, I hate feeling like I was not efficient or productive with my time. I learned that obscuring the way time is represented will actually ease my anxiety but still allow me to gauge my level of productivity.