Creating a Custom Chiming Snake Clock
Pairing existing, obsolete, and analog technology to create a one-of-a-kind timepiece.
The Backstory
What started as an elaborate family joke quickly evolved into a product that is part art installation, part deep internet rabbit hole, and part critique on planned obsolescence.
The impetus was the humble Audubon Singing Bird Clock.
The impetus was the humble Audubon Singing Bird Clock.
"Take Action," the website header reads. Oh, dear, sweet Audubon. You bet your ass I will.
The Idea
As a running joke, I buy my sister every hour-chiming clock I find at a thrift store. The result is an absolutely amazing orchestra of robotic birds and cats every hour, on the hour. Nothing lifts the spirits quite like the sound of an increasingly broken electronic cat meow.
My brother and I were at my sister's house out one day, in the aftermath of a clock chime duet. You really can't help but laugh and mimic the sounds. "How hilarious would it be," we gasped, "if there were more clock animal sounds?"
"Bears!" we called out to each other in jest. " Whales! Wolves! Snakes!"
Snakes! Snakes were the clear winners. Snakes don't even make audible noises, let alone 12 different ones. We joked about it for years. Or really, they joked about it. Being a sucker for a time-suck and wanting to win at Christmas presents, I joked with my brother and sister in public. In private, though? I was doing my research.
My brother and I were at my sister's house out one day, in the aftermath of a clock chime duet. You really can't help but laugh and mimic the sounds. "How hilarious would it be," we gasped, "if there were more clock animal sounds?"
"Bears!" we called out to each other in jest. " Whales! Wolves! Snakes!"
Snakes! Snakes were the clear winners. Snakes don't even make audible noises, let alone 12 different ones. We joked about it for years. Or really, they joked about it. Being a sucker for a time-suck and wanting to win at Christmas presents, I joked with my brother and sister in public. In private, though? I was doing my research.
Operation: Snake Clock was live.
Competitive Analysis and Product Landscape
The first step was market research.
The maker of the clocks & other styles
Clock requirements
Sound requirements
Graphic design phase
The maker of the clocks & other styles
Clock requirements
Sound requirements
Graphic design phase
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Sourcing Snake Material
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My main source of scientific illustrations was the Biodiversity Heritage Library and their unparalleled archived database. I wanted at least 12 beautiful illustrations of different species of snakes, so I combed through dozens of studies on reptiles and amphibians from all over the globe. Most of the images I used are from German, French, and Australian texts.
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I took the illustrations and made PNG files in Photoshop in order to mock up clock face designs.
Clock Face Visual Design
Once I had all of my snakes in a row, I began working on the visual design of the clock face.
Mockup #1 - Circles
I designed this first layout to playfully modernize the original illustrations. The background was meant to reference the original scientific texts, and the center hole is for the clock hand mechanism. Feedback from this first design was positive on the colors used and the shapes of the snakes breaking the background shapes. However, the design made it hard to tell the time, and appeared more celestial than clock-like.
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Mockup #2 - Numbers
This second layout was a little less ambiguous by adding numbers to each hour. I played around with the combination of snake shape with different colors and numbers, and lightened the background. The result was easier to read as a clock but was crowded and too busy. I also tested this layout on the clock itself, which needed to be resized.
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Mockup # 3 - Hybrid Layout
Finalizing the Design
The final layout incorporated the best of both earlier iterations. I resized everything to fit within the clock face, and created a more minimal design by only including each quarter hour. This enhanced usability, gave context to the graphic, and added delightful visual pairings between the snakes and their corresponding numbers. I matched the snakes that looked most like their numeral counterparts, though of course the Rattlesnake had to be kept at 12.
Putting it all together -
Printing & prototyping formatting
Taking clock apart
THINKING i had the correct clock (purchased new) - issues w wall cavity
Buying new clocks - as they say, more clocks, more problems. The iPhone 4 fits, but alas, the Android does not. Why does that matter? THE ALARM SOUNDS.
*~*~*~* Why Holistic Design Matters ~*~*~*~*~ loloolllolollll shoulda done that firstttttt instead of assuming the technology I had would be compatible!
Switch to android! Research & testing various apps that do what I want - VERY IMPORTANT, imagine that a single electronic device used to do that entire job that I had to scour the internet for, is digital really that much better tho?????
Printing & prototyping formatting
Taking clock apart
THINKING i had the correct clock (purchased new) - issues w wall cavity
Buying new clocks - as they say, more clocks, more problems. The iPhone 4 fits, but alas, the Android does not. Why does that matter? THE ALARM SOUNDS.
*~*~*~* Why Holistic Design Matters ~*~*~*~*~ loloolllolollll shoulda done that firstttttt instead of assuming the technology I had would be compatible!
Switch to android! Research & testing various apps that do what I want - VERY IMPORTANT, imagine that a single electronic device used to do that entire job that I had to scour the internet for, is digital really that much better tho?????
