The project objective was to design a time telling device based upon the design philosophy of Frank Gehry. The piece was not to look like his design style. Frank Gehry’s sketching style is very free-flowing and he does not inhibit himself in anyway. I had to take an out-of-the-box thinking style and apply it to my time piece.
I did several sketches exploring different time piece designs. After narrowing it down to about ten ideas I made sketch models in pink foam of each. That helped me narrow down the design even further and brought flaws to my attention. I then did more sketches and sketch models of the idea that I liked the most.
I created several foam models based on a range of time piece designs, I ended up with a piece that tilts from side to side once an hour, making a single tap sound. It lets you to know when an hour has passed without allowing you to know exactly what time it is.
The internal components of the time piece were mounted to one side and the arm when through the other. When closing the box the arm did not need to be in place. It can be slid in once the box is closed to ensure that the gear stays perpendicular to the arm.
The arm of the time piece slowly moves from one side to the other. Once the arm displaces the center of gravity enough to make the piece tip, it makes a tap sound, indicating that an hour has passed.
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TAP
The project brief was to create a time telling device based on the aesthetic of an architect. I was assigned Frank Gehry and created Tap. Tap uses a moving wooden rod to slowly change the center of gravity of the object. It is calibrated to tip over and make a "tap" sound in 1-hour intervals. The idea is for it to be used while doing a highly focused activity (drawing, writing, etc.) where you want to know how much time has passed without the distraction of an actual clock. Intended to help reduce constantly checking the time and the stress associated with it.
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