The project started with one manufacturing constraint - of being 3D printed. This focused his initial research into studying how watches are conventionally manufactured and how additive manufacturing can simplify it. Over the decades, the way watches are sold by watchmakers has changed due to a lot of reasons, from the manufacturing technologies to types of watches available in the market and the way people shop. A market study concluded that most watches are purchased at a brick-and-mortar store, which prompted him to think what the future of online shopping experience for a watch is.
Smartphones and the internet have enabled users to have exposure to a wide variety of products. Customers believe they’ll find something that best satisfies their needs. In such a highly saturated market with the inherent need for exclusivity, how can personalization increase the value of a watch? He decided to work with analogue watches as it is a matured segment in watches and exclusivity in them is declining. After discussion, brainstorming and use cases and customer persona mapping, concepts were detailed in CAD parametrically in terms of what the USP and features are, keeping in mind the manufacturing constraints and limitations.
After a market study on customization engine, UI/UX of the watch shopping platform was conceptualized with the aim to make an intuitive interface to make the customization experience engaging, quick & easy to navigate through. Mock-up wireframes of pages were made to get a visual idea of the placement and layout.
Overall, this graduation project was a great opportunity for him to explore non-conventional manufacturing methods and to visualize a Titan product, the scope and challenge offered while designing the back-end of a customizable watch and understanding the complexity of a customization engine (front end).
Analogue Watch, Parametric Design, Personalization, Product Design, UI/UX
