Long post ahead, if you don't feel like reading just skip to the picture of the 4 vector options and comment which is best.
My brother, cousin and me have been working on Coda - a watch (and business) concept. We would love having a bit of back and forth about what you guys think about the business idea, design of the case, hands, vector & whatever else you feel like.
Let me give you a short explanation of our vision, as it will help in understanding some design choices.
We believe that time itself is anyone’s most valuable possession. But many are constantly worrying about the future or the past, while there are endless little pleasures to be found by actually living in the moment. In our view, the best use of time is time that is spent with the people around you - and especially the people you love. We want to embody this idea by making watches that represents this belief for him & her. Therefore, we plan on selling watches as a relationship gift. The watches are made to symbolise the time loved ones give to each other.
2 watches (with variations in colours) as a relationship gift for couples: the Coda X & Y. They can be engraved on the back with a personal message and come with a relationship lifetime warrantee (warrantee exists 1 year + for as long as you are together).
The aim is a thin, unisex dress watch. Most likely 6 variations of the watch design: 2 dial colour variations (X with a white dial & Y with a black dial) + 3 metal variations (silver, black, rose gold).
We used basic circular geometry to create the watch case. The result is in our opinion oddly satisfying when keeping a 1:2 relation between the curving of the case and the curving of the dial. We found that combining this with a minimum width of 1 mm between the dial and the border of the case keeps the design slim, while preserving the unique aesthetics of a contemporary yet elegant timepiece.
The respective lengths of the hour and minute hands are determined using the golden ratio. The second hand is pretty unconventional. As we believe that the moment is of more importance than what second it is exactly, we have made the second hand symmetrical, which leaves the owner in dubio about which direction it points at. We are very curious what you opinion about it is.
This is where we had the most disagreement. Because the second hand is so weird, we were able to experiment with a wide variety of vectors. We have so far not found the perfect option, so we have lined we have lined up 4 choices that appeal to us above. Of course, if you have any other ideas we would love to hear it.
You can follow our story more closely at http://www.codawatch.com/blog/. However, I will try to keep this post up to date with new developments and I will share the first 3d renderings in this post as soon as we have figured out what vector we will go for.
The first 3d renders! Let us know what you think!
Hi Guys, I like the idea of a paired watch product especially for couples and the custom engraving. I see couples do this and most of the time they choose for complementary designs; the man gets the brown watchband and white face, the woman the white band and brown face. Of course people can always claim their guarantee since there is no proof they are together or not. But I like the idea - 1. you see that someone is in a relationship and 2. you get to know who is with who, say at big parties and events.
To become successful as a watch brand you need a strong and simple brand that speaks. Take o'clock watches for example, a brand that started small but really took off with their silicone designs. Your brand feels very Italian while you are claiming Dutch design - see if you can imbue more of that into the watch. Think for example about rounding the corners a bit, redesigning the logo and hands to be more modern. Communicate something unexpected through shape or material.
I like the second hand and proportions of the hand. Design D is my favorite, it is modern and emphasizes the round face the best.
The design to stand out needs lots more work - I like the curved shape but it needs more detail. Also the material needs to dictate the design more, for example slight bevels on the edges work beautifully with brushed metals, also think about anodized aluminum for multiple colors. Also it is very thin, it needs a bit more body to it.