Ever since he was studying away in design school, Dutch designer Maarten Baas has played with the concept of time; up until the Just About Now clock, his creations have been artistic concepts and prototypes. Endeavoring to reinvent the familiar twenty-four hour clock in a radical way, he teamed up with Dutch/English manufacturers Laikingland.
The Just About Now clock is comprised of a unique hourglass creation that is attached to a brass gong. When the sand has filled the cup, which approximately takes an hour, the gong sounds off via a mechanized mallet. Recently unveiled at Salone del Mobile, Baas writes, “The exact time is often irrelevant. A coffee break, a meditation, a nap, a business meeting, they could take a few minutes longer or shorter than an exact amount of time.”
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Time Abstraction
- Exploring new ways to perceive and measure time, such as using hourglass-inspired clocks, opens up opportunities for designing unique timepieces and time management tools.
- Artistic Timekeeping
- Blending art and function in clock design, like the Just About Now clock, creates opportunities for artistic expression and customization in timepieces.
- Nonlinear Time Experience
- Challenging the rigid structure of traditional clocks and embracing the relative nature of time allows for innovative approaches to scheduling, productivity, and personal time management.
Sectors Adopting This
- Clock Manufacturing
- Manufacturing companies can explore the production of hourglass-inspired clocks and other unconventional timekeeping devices.
- Art and Design
- Artists and designers can incorporate time abstraction concepts into their creations, blurring the line between functional objects and artistic expression.
- Productivity and Time Management
- Developing tools and techniques for nonlinear time experience can disrupt the productivity and time management industry, offering alternative approaches to scheduling and work-life balance.
