project #3 experimental clock

♥ click turn key to start metranome ♥

Write a description for your experimental clock. How is it novel to you and how might it alter the way you track / keep time?

Music keeps time to many moments in my life. The beat it sets directly influences my rhythm of the moment. When I’m walking around the city I listen to playlists that keep tempo with my foot falls, and will play music with a higher bpm when I’m running late for class. This inspired my choice of ‘clock’ to be a metronome. A steady companion to give a little rhythm to the passing time.

Describe your design process. Include all three of your design sketches and explain how you’ve ended up choosing one

I started just sketching, allowing myself to flow with the first idea that popped into my mind intuitively. Unfortunately, after deciding on the metronome sketch I deleted the other two procreate layers that held my other sketches (I didn’t know we needed them at that point). I will describe them briefly instead. The first was a sketch of a sleepy clock, whose face would morph and sag as time ran round and round. The second was a simple time-lapse style sketch of a flower growing. With this sketch I wanted to incorporate the shifting of light between night and day. I ended up choosing the metronome because it had a personal connection to me, and the pseudocode flowed more freely into the design of this one. The other two were difficult to comprehend even by that point. Finally, the feedback I got in class indicated that the metronome was a clear winner, bolstering my intuition to choose that sketch.

What’s your overall reflection on this assignment? What have you learned throughout the process of designing an unconventional clock?

As of yet, assignment number two is my favorite. I really enjoyed the life I felt I put into that design. Still, this project pushed me to understand more complex concepts. I may not have enjoyed it at the time, but it was euphoric to press play and watch my struggle finally pay off when the code ran correctly. I learned a lot of new p5js skills that will undoubtedly transfer into my future work, and I continued to refine my design process.

code

https://editor.p5js.org/myleshouse/sketches/RVUBECyKZ

credit

These are all the material (outside of those given to us in class) that I utilized to create this code