q u a n t i z e d c l o c k

M i c h a e l G l u z M a nProcess Book, Fall 2008Analog Clock Design

History of the clock

In-store observations

r e s e a r c h

d e c o r a t i o n

c o n t e x t

p r i c e

s t a t u s

Shadow clock, gnomon

Hour glass,Clepsydra

Gearing introduced

Crude mechanical clock

Galileo describes pendulum movement

Pendulum regulates clock

Clock installed in Independence Hall

LCD invented

Hemispherical sundial

3500 bc 270 bc 1730 19701300 1657 2000+

Consumers tend to treat clocks as accessories to a room; with so many different styles, clocks’ functions are subverted by their skins.

Because clocks are typically used for decoration, they must fit into the existing design of the room; consumers keep the decor of the room in mind to make a decision on which clock to buy.

Price makes a huge impression on consumers when it comes to clocks; since clocks typically function similarly across all styles, cheaper clocks leave shelves quicker.

Clock design may indicate consumer status; elaborate clocks tend to support more lavish decor while simpler clocks are mostly found in less elegant settings. Details can be the exception to this rule.

The research of Julian Barbour

i n s p i r a t i o n

“ t i M e i s n o t h i n G M o r e t h a n a p r o d u c t o f h u M a n p e r c e p t i o n . ”

In the July 2002 issue of Discover Magazine, an article by Tim Folger discusses a relatively new method for interpreting and explaining time. Physicist Julian Barbour suggests that time does not exist as a continuum, but instead as an array of still , parallel universes bound by our consciousness. These “moments” are timeless and infinite, suggesting that we too are infinite; immortal through countless captured instances.

Barbour’s ideas offer an opportunity to explore time philosophically; to ask questions about how we engage and perceive it.

p o s i t i o n

m o m e n t

n o w

u n i v e r s e

Time is nothing but a measure of the changing positions of objects.

Many versions of ourselves simultaneaously inhabit a multitude of static still-life configurations that contain everything in the universe at any given moment.

These configurations are called, “Nows.”

Each Now is a complete, self-contained, timeless, unchanging universe.

d e s i g n c r i t e r i a

f o r m l a n g u a g e

Use conventional method of telling time.

Consider minimal decor. Implement a reference to Barbour’s theory into the experience of reading the clock.

l a y e r

f r a m e

l e n s

c a p s u l e

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c o n c e p t s

s t u d y m o d e l s

f i n a l p r o t o t y p e

e x p l o d e d v i e w