Descartes

Designer watch

Individual project

A minimalist watch inspired by organic Voronoi patterns, designed using computational tools in Rhino and Grasshopper.

01Design goal

A wearable to explore computational design.

The brief I set myself was to create a wearable that explores computational design techniques using Rhino and Grasshopper. The moodboard pairs quiet, minimalist timepieces with the organic cell structures of Voronoi patterns.

Minimal white-dial wristwatch on a black strap

Moodboard

Why Voronoi?

Scatter a set of points and give each one the space that is closer to it than to any other point. The result is the same cell structure found in bone, foam and dragonfly wings, and it can be generated, tuned and made in Grasshopper.

Move to grow a cell · click to plant one

02Concept

Sketch fast.

Quick, rough sketches were made to visualise and explore the initial concept.

Concept sketch of the watch with a Voronoi dial and a strap with rectangular openings, annotated

Render of the Descartes watch face with its organic cut-out disc — From sketch to render: the organic disc inside a clean round case

03Development

Grown, not drawn.

The basic shape of the strap was modelled in Blender. Grasshopper then crafted the organic structures that fit into its rectangular openings.

Grasshopper definition generating the organic strap structures — Grasshopper definition for the strap infill

Grasshopper definition generating the organic disc — Grasshopper definition for the organic disc

The disc is the second hand

The organic disc sits on the second-hand axis and rotates seamlessly, with final refinements made in Blender. There are no hands: two dots orbit the disc, grey for the hour and dark for the minute.

Live · synced to your clock

04Packaging

The creation of Adam.

Inspired by Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, the packaging mirrors the organic theme of the watch. Adam's hand, encased in a Voronoi pattern, meets God's inorganic red glass hand: creation and humanity.

Packaging render: a red Voronoi-lattice hand wearing the watch reaching towards a glass hand

Made to print

Using Rhino and Dendro nodes, the packaging was optimised for 3D printing, so it can be produced in small runs without tooling.

Grasshopper and Dendro definition used to thicken the lattice for 3D printing

Glass case with both hands inside, the watch on Adam's wrist

Red lattice hand on a red base, wearing the watch

Close-up of the two hands almost touching

Close-up of the watch on the lattice wrist

Descartes watch lying on a dark surface under a soft spotlight

Embrace time

As you fasten Descartes around your wrist, you're not just wearing a watch; you're wearing a narrative. A narrative of organic grace, Renaissance grandeur and minimalist allure. Descartes invites you not only to keep track of time but to savour it.

Descartes — the art of time

Marketing poster

Rows of Descartes watches on a dark surface, one highlighted in the centre — Final render

Next projectHydrop