DESIGN STORY : SUNDIA WRISTWATCH

During my studies at SADI Master of Design 2014 programme, I was asked to design a new wristwatch

souvenir for LEEUM Museum in Seoul, South Korea. While working as a team on new souvenir ideas,

I was to separately design a wristwatch that will be sold at the museum.

INITIAL CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Composed of a fairly straight-forward project brief, I was lucky to have the freedom to come up with fairly wide range of ideas and variations. However, the purpose of a souvenir wristwatch is very different from that of a luxury high-end jewellery like a Rolex.

Although LEEUM showcases big international art works constantly, they only have in-house graphic designers for souvenirs. The limitations to production technique availability and time almost forced the project into finding a simple yet unique design solution.

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

In order to effectively communicate my ideas to the LEEUM representatives, quick renderings of a few plausible concepts were picked out and visualized.

One of the project's most important goals was that souvenir wristwatches have to be distinctive enough to catch someone's attention while still being a quality product that people would be willing to use daily.

The design ideas are centralized on the concept of time itself or the theme of LEEUM.

Watch design inspired by sundials. The face of the watch is made of rough stone which symbolises the materials that sundials were made out of. This is a modern take on the materials and feel of sundials.

Only the number 10 is laser printed on the face of the watch. This represents the special 10th anniversary of Leeum Museum.

Only the number 10 on the face of the watch is coloured black. Other numbers are replaced by the letters LEEUM MUSEUM. This is the second variation of Leeum's 10th Anniversary Watch.

Time is a concept invented by humans. It is neither right nor wrong. The Mist Watch has time hands that gradually turn transparent on the ends to not show the exact time. Stop worrying about the actual time, and enjoy the current moment.

Only the current hour is visible on this watch. Inspired by how people told time by looking at the sky, the Sunset Watch contains a beautiful sunset. The face of the watch rotates as time passes by.

FINALIZATION & PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT

Because this was a fast-paced project, the finalization of the design details and production development progressed simultaneously.

Taking advantage of the steel production possibilities, the concept chosen was the 'sundial watch.' The mechanical precision of steel engravings were used to create a unique pattern for the watch face along with the body itself. In turn, while simplifying the production process, it was a very cost-effective way to visualize the concept.

In terms of the process, CAD models were created along with illustrated guidelines for the factory production.

FINAL PRODUCT

Two versions of the design were produced and released: steel and anodized black.

Both versions consist of engraved patterns, matching watch hands, genuine leather strap,

and engraved logo and signature on the back of the watch.

view design presentation