Art Deco Desk Clocks

In Architecture of Objects I just finished up with a quick clock project. I really enjoyed the project, quick but the clock is such a classic design brief. I had sketched for a few days and because of time constraints started to build my original design the day before it was due. Of course, in making physical models, all the issues come out and I scrapped the idea at about 6pm and started sketching again.

My inspiration for this clock was actually from the video game, BioShock. I had recently being playing the game and was inspired by the immersive art deco environment and decided to pursue a simple clock which would try to bring the styling of the 1920's into modern materials.

I decided on using clear acrylic which would be laser cut, painted and then heat bent into shape. It was quick, easy and repeatable, which was good since the clocks were due the next morning.

I have three designs in three colors (gloss white, gloss black and matte black).

My favorite of the three is the white clock with the hour markers on the perimeter of the face. Currently, I'm experimenting with the same design in black. The sunburst design, while calling up the art deco influence, exposes the mechanics behind the clock. I'm trying different things with the design to make the mechanics less visible including moving the sunburst starting point out and making the cutouts thinner. We'll see.

The clocks went over well in crit, Shaun felt I had succeeded in styling my clocks after the 1920's and art deco and actually said he would like the white design on his mantle. I consider this to be the ultimate compliment.

Again, for this class I am trying to make products that could be mass produced. With a jig to get the bends correct every time this design would be quite easy to produce on large quantities. I've actually been kicking around the idea of making some more of these and selling them on Esty. We'll see what comes out of it.

Thanks for reading.