Process
The process started from an analysis of the existing market. The shortcomings identified in current products defined the concept principles: familiar form, clean modular system and interface focused on notifications, not on replicating the smartphone.
- Market analysis
- Design from accumulated experience
- Circular form
- Modular system
- Minimalist interface
The smartwatch user in 2013 was someone who already wore a watch, with years of experience in how it is worn, how it is read and what is expected of an object on the wrist. That cultural and usage background was the starting point of the design, not an obstacle. The user didn't want a phone on their wrist, they wanted a watch that did a few more things. That distinction, apparently simple, was what no product on the market at that time was respecting.
Three principles defined the concept from the start. The first: form, starting from the circular shape of the traditional watch to generate immediate familiarity, without trying to innovate in the object's geometry before having resolved its function. The second: the modular system, the connection between strap and hardware being clean, indivisible to the user's eyes, easy to connect and disconnect without complicated mechanisms. The third: the interface, focused exclusively on notifications and essential functions, without trying to replicate smartphone functions on a 3-centimetre screen.
The analysis of the existing market was the exploration. The products analysed showed three paths that were discarded as a starting point: the rectangular form that replicated the smartphone screen, the modular system with visibly forced connections between strap and hardware, and the overloaded interface that tried to do on the wrist what the phone already did better in the pocket. All three paths shared the same original error: designing the smartwatch as a smaller smartphone instead of as a smarter watch. The proposal started from inverting that starting point.
The interface architecture was organised around a single principle: show only what makes sense on the wrist. Missed call notifications, new email, weather data, sync with the phone. No full text messages, no emails, no social networks, not because it wasn't technically possible but because it wasn't appropriate for the context of use. Interface customisation was delegated to a mobile app, where the user had enough screen and keyboard to make those decisions comfortably.
