I designed this clock face to allow viewers to mentally record the time it takes to be conscious of an event. In this case, the event is recognizing a hidden image inside the inkblot on the face of the clock.
The accompanying wordmark, “depth”, hints at these hidden items. The “e” is stylized to look like a “13”, the number of images hidden in the inkblot.
How can a clock tell time without having intervals (whether hour, minute, or second) marked?
I was asked to create a clock with an underlying concept about time present in the design. It didn't necessarily have to tell time in the mechanical sense, but the visuals and the clock movement needed to paint a mental picture. The first thing I thought of was how the brain interprets time–the space between events, however large or small.
People seeing this clock for the first time may be confused as to what it's purpose is. The purpose of the clock is a deceptive one. It can be used as a traditional clock, however that is not it's intended purpose.
I designed the clock as a measure to tell how long it takes to be conscious of something. To be conscious of nothing at one moment and then conscious of something at another represents the time between events and would be how viewers of the clock would perceive time.
The face of the clock features an inkblot, or Rorschach image. While it's common in Rorschach testing to get responses for what the inkblot looks like, I wanted to make viewers give the clock more than just a cursory look. I hid a total of 13 images in the positive and negative space of the inkblot, which is where the "consciousness" concept comes into play.
The product word mark, "depth" is designed to hint at these 13 hidden images. The lowercase "e" is vertically split, making a 13 with the resulting strokes.
