Visual Techniques

1. UNDERSTATEMENT: The Accurate, by Crispin Jones

2. BALANCE: Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, by Charles and Ray Eames

The Accurate by Crispin Jones is one of my favorite designs of all time. As a watch enthusiast I think this specific watch removes all superfluous elements and focuses on the most important aspect of time in our lives, how much of it we have left. Time itself is somewhat of a made up concept; seconds, minutes, hours are words and units made by man to measure the days that pass. Most of us look at our watches to tell us how close or far we are from an unimportant number or event. The Accurate is "an object designed to remind us that life is brief and that we should seize the moment while we are here". It has been designed with minimal elements removing time and numbers, only leaving small tic marks on its mirrored face. The three hands spin by and tell you your life is slowly passing by, this makes the numbers seem trivial and unimportant. 
The polar opposite design but also an inspiration to me is the Eames Lounge Chair. The Eames Chair is one of the most famous chairs of all time and for good reason, simple balanced design. The chair looks and functions just as it should. visually we can see the strurdy metal base firmly planted on the ground, from there the warm wood tones curve and provide structure and support. Above that thick, supple leather appears to be comforting and soft. This design physically embodies all aspects of what a lounge chair should be. Simple, grounded, sturdy, supportive and yet luxurious and inviting. 
Charles and Ray Eames designed an arguably perfect chair that does exactly what it should do. Mr. Jones on the other hand has designed a watch that has thrown out the principle function of a watch but has instead replaced the boring and question of "what time is it" into the much more important question "How much time do you have left and what are you going to do with it".




Links:
http://www.mrjoneswatches.com/watches/
http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating/eames-lounge-chair-and-ottoman.html