We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Jara Freund about their original and creative Wall Clock design work. Jara Freund is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original wall clock works.
Jara Freund ("JF") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Imnu Wall Clock. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
JF : Imnu introduces a remake of a design classic, an original approach to the known wall clock. The clock is designed in such a way that it has an understated nature and a subtle appearance.
JF : The clock face is a thin disc which seems to float on the wall. The hands bend from the back towards the center of the clock and run outside around the disc. I wanted to put special emphasise on the minimalistic appearance of IMNU. We do not need much to read time and with this design I wanted to achieve a peaceful wall clock that subtly integrates into our homes.
JF : I am working on bringing IMNU to the market and hoping to find an interesting cooperation with a company or manufacture to make that happen as soon as possible.
JF : This project evolved during a semester in 2016 and kept my attention ever after. The concept and design were created back then but it took another year before the technical background was worked out. Now the clock works and is ready to move on from a concept phase to production.
JF : I pursued an inspiration and created this particular concept during a semester at the University of Applied Science Darmstadt under the supervision of professor Tino Melzer.
JF : No, not yet but I would like to sell my production rights and soon see IMNU being produced in cooperation with a company or manufacture.
JF : I was inspired by the thermal bath Vals in Switzerland. The architect Peter Zumthor designed the building based on a quarry and knowingly leaves out amusement elements such as slides or bubble baths. A bathing experience reduces to the essentials. Furthermore, you won't find a clock on the wall... They are hidden in metal pipes that stick out of the ground. When you look into them you can read the time.
JF : The target group involves all ages but mostly will variate between 30-50 year-olds who have a clear emphasize on values and long for minimalistic & timeless products. IMNU fits into every environment and attracts men as much as women due to its neutral look. It appears unique, elegant and simple. Its overall look is clean and defined.
JF : It is a new, refreshing and minimalistic look of the known wall clock. Although the clock face is reversed, the time is still easy to read and recognisable without much guessing. Since the hanger aligns the clock to 12 o clock, a dial is not necessary. Furthermore the small branding on the clock face states a visual horizontal.
JF : The name IMNU refers to 'living in the here and now'. It is a language mix of German (im=in) and Dutch (nu=now). As this project was created at the University of Applied Science in Darmstadt and optimized at Howest in Belgium, the name fits very well with the wall clock and summarizes the concept shotly and to the point.
JF : I started my design process with sketching and quick prototyping with cardboard. Then I used 3D CAD to model and Keyshot for renderings and the Adobe Creative Cloud for visualisation. For developing and prototyping the clock mechanism, I 3D printed and tested a lot of parts.
JF : The focus of this design lies on the pointers of the clock. Instead of being attached to a pin in the middle of the dial, they run around the circumference, folding themselves over the outer edge instead. Imnu introduces a remake of a design classic, an original approach to the typical wall clock.
JF : The clock runs with a special reconstructed clockwork which allows the clock hands to spin from the outside. It took quite a while and finding a solution for the clock to work. I worked together with a specialist for clockworks (Maximilian Schubert) on this design challenge which resulted in a successful joint collaboration.
JF : Design Challenge: The redefinition of one of the most classic designs, the clock. Technical Challenge: It is not possible to implement the concept with commercial quartz clockworks. There is no possibility to connect the clock face with the clockwork without the hands coming in between any fixing point. Therefore the clock runs with special reconstructed clockwork which allows the clock hands to spin from the outside. Finding a solution was a technical challenge but resulted in a smart add-on which is mounted onto an existing clock movement.
