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A circular wall clock emerges against a luminous backdrop of veined marble, its form presenting a striking study in minimalist design philosophy where the traditional relationship between timepiece…

Reverse Clock by Mattice Boets is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2019 Golden A' Design Award in Furniture Design Competition Category.


GoldFurniture· 2019

Reverse Clock

by Mattice Boets

Client: Mattice Boets

Golden A' Design Award Winner in Furniture Category

59,905

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #78372

Colors

The Design

About Reverse Clock

While time flies by, clocks have stayed the same. Reverse is not an ordinary clock, it's the reversal, a minimalistic clock design with subtle changes making it one of a kind. The hand facing inward rotates inside the outer ring to indicate the hour. The little hand facing outward stands alone and rotates to indicate the minutes. Reverse was created by removing all elements of a clock except its cylindrical base, from there imagination took over. This clock design aims to remind you to embrace time.

The Recognition

About the Golden A' Design Award

Reverse Clock is a Golden A' Design Award winner, an immensely prestigious recognition granted to first-rate, marvelous, and outstanding designs. Golden winners are exceedingly innovative, visionary, and glamorously dazzling creations that reflect the prodigy, wisdom, and prowess of their designers. Reverse Clock is expected to be a highly praised, trendsetting, and monumental invention that delivers unprecedented value. This Golden A' Design Award-winning design is a spectacular, respected project that highly benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Reverse Clock creates intense feelings of desire, evokes passion, encourages creativity, and fascinates us.

Where to Get It

Collectible Art and Bespoke Design Services

We create exquisite functional art pieces and sculptural works through Natural Intelligence—our philosophy merging human creativity with cutting-edge technology. Our award-winning studio crafts bespoke designs that feel shaped by nature itself, from furniture to installations.

Commission Design

Interviews

Design Interview

What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

I noticed that there were numerous different clock designs but they all seemed so much alike. I wondered why they had to work in that specific way. It seemed to me as if the design of the clock didn’t change at all even though its main function is to display time, which is constantly changing.

What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

My intention in the Reverse clock design was to do something different while keeping the same shapes that a clock is made out of so that it would still be easily recognizable.

What are your future plans for this award winning design?

Currently, the clock is a concept, but it has the potential to be realized. I would like to realize this concept together with a company in the near future. I believe it’s a design that has a lot of potential and people seem to like it very much. I think it would be a great addition to the current clock designs that are available.

Read the Full Interview

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Reverse is a minimalistic and unordinary clock design with subtle changes making it one of a kind. The little hand moves by the outer edges of the clock and points to the hour while the middle one pivots in the center and points to the minutes. It's simple, yet different.
Dimensions & Packaging
Ø 420 x 30 mm
Tags
clock, reverse, accessoires, homeware, innovation, interior, furniture, furnishings, time, home
Production Technology
The two hands of the clock are driven by a quartz clock mechanism with two axes. The minute hand is driven by the inside axel. The outer shell is made out of two visually invisible rings that form a bearing. This mechanism combined with the inside gears allows the outer ring and the hour hand to rotate but also gives the impression that the outer ring is static.
Design Challenge
Coming up with an idea of a clock design that's original, interesting and different was challenging. I started from the basic shape most clocks are made of, a cylinder so that the clock would still be easily recognizable. Then I decided to remove all elements of a clock except the cylindrical base and started imagining what a clock could be. I tried to incorporate all the elements of the original clock design but in a slightly different way, resulting in a design that looked mostly the same but at the same time was entirely different and unique.
Research
This clock design was a personal experiment in which my goal was to design a clock that's visually appealing and different from all others, a clock that lets people embrace time. This unusual perspective created inspiring insights into what a clock could be.
Inspiration
While time flies by, clocks have stayed the same. Most clocks have the same look and feel, there's very little difference in their designs. Why? Isn't it time to see some change? These questions inspired the concept Reverse.
Project Duration
The project was designed and completed in March 2016 in Hasselt, Belgium, and was online publicized on Yanko Design on May 2, 2018, and on Gooood on May 9, 2018, as well as various others.
Operation Flow
The hand facing inward rotates inside the outer ring to indicate the hour. The little hand facing outward stands alone and rotates to indicate the minutes. It's the reversal of the ordinary clock design.
Patents
Registered at BOIP (Benelux-Bureau of Intellectual Property). No. 109099. Mattice Boets. Filed on 26-12-2017.

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