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Ttmm For Fitbit Clock Faces Apps by Albert Salamon |
Home > Winners > Design #63938 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
AS: High readability, minimal aesthetic style and a pinch of thinking differently.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
AS: I wanted to make it very easy in use - that is why instead of using sophisticated settings operated by a phone app, a user can customize all specifications, color presets or special functions such as the torch, timer or stopwatch with a simple tap on the screen. Such a solution saves a lot of time and brings the changes immediately to the screen. So my TTMM collection is designed for everyday use - ready be to be customized to the user's actual needs - color of the band or cloth style.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
AS: I plan to develop and release more clock faces for Fitbit Ionic.
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
AS: The design of a single model takes a day to invent, a day to make the documentation, a couple of hours to code it, a few hours to test it and probably a day to make the necessary material for sales and promotion (for Fitbit app store, TTMM apps, www, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). Some hours for testing the TTMM apps. So these 15 models took about 2 months of work with breaks.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
AS: I made this TTMM collection for people like me - who like simple, minimal and functional design. I was inspired by sci-fi literature and movies and with electronic music.
FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
AS: I am a designer, brand owner and producer. I sell TTMM clock faces to Fitbit Ionic in TTMM App Stores. TTMM is simply a software brand specializing in clock faces, and I am open to a partnership offer to produce a TTMM hardware watch. If you are interested in a partnership contact me.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
AS: I like watches, and the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch offers a nice space to show my idea of what clock faces could look like in the 21 century. I just was tired of looking at imitations of 20 century analogue clocks (e.g. Apple’s Mickey Mouse with hands) or casio like lcd watches.
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
AS: There was NOOKA and TOKYOFLASH blogs where bold, avant-garde ideas were presented. NOOKA and TOKYOFLASH were an inspiration and encouraged me to make my ideas real. My previous TTMM collection for Pebble is a fantastic library of ideas to rethink and redesign the collection for Fitbit Ionic. TTMM's DNA is to define and invent new signs of the 21 century era and soft(ware)time in a new way.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
AS: People interested in something new. Those open to an abstract and minimal number of forms to mark time. I believe that many users of smartwatches do not only want a great-style hardware but also seek a new expression for time.
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
AS: TTMM is designed by a man (still human not an AI or bot) and has a specific, minimal look and style of my own. And after TTMM there is an idea to not only watch but also THINK what TIME means.
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
AS: The name TTMM consists of the word TIME and HH:MM and with its mechanical pronunciation it represents the dehumanization and digitalization of our era.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
AS: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
AS: A personal - subjective style, an easy-to-read setup and a personalized interface.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
AS: I hired programmers to write code for Fitbit Ionic and to code iOS and Android TTMM App Stores. Watch faces design: Albert Salamon. Fitbit programmer: Gregoire Sage. iOS programmer: Arek Banas. Android programmer: Artur Salamon
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
AS: Technology used by Fitbit (high resolution and 1000 nits screen) and sport functions provides a great space for experiment and learning how to compose an attractive hierarchy for time and different complications such as: steps, distance, hr, calories, floors, temperature and the weather icon.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
AS: Nope. None - I just wanted to design what I like and what would be useful for me in everyday use.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
AS: The main challenge was not only to design highly readable and useful clock faces but also to present them in an easy-to-operate-and-purchase way for the users. That is why I decided to release separate TTMM clock faces to App Store and to Fitbit App Store, where the user will only have 15 well-designed clock faces, compared to hundreds of clock faces made by enthusiast programmers, which are not so original and come as a flood of mixed clock faces all at once. I think that this brings a lot of stress to customers and it is an unaesthetic solution where each design cancels another. Too much choice brings disorientation.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
AS: This is my 6th Design Award - so for me it is natural to participate in it and present my work to professionals and the public.
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
AS: Firstly - I have experienced a great pace of change in technology, so everything I develop only lives for a very short period of time and automatically soon becomes unimportant history. Secondly - design vs production, development and promotion are all different and very important processes. They take more time than design itself. So to achieve success you need to connect and balance all these processes, manage programmers and coordinate their work and make an intriguing and beautiful ad campain to sell the product.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
AS: It is very hard to invent new ideas and to show time from different and fresh perspectives but after years of experience (over 150 different clock faces designs) this particular segment of design still is a challenge for me and brings new discoveries and satisfaction.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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