It takes both a machine and an observer to make this magical lighting trick work, since the effective ‘frame rate’ of the human eye effectively puts together a series of independent flashes to reconstruct the image in play.

Skip to around 1 minute and 30 seconds into the above video to get a sense of not only how this works but of other potential applications – a clock is just one kind of display, but anything is possible. You can write static (well, moving) messages, or scroll text or images or patterns, or even send remote commands if the device is wireless.

This particular model USB powered fan LED will spin really fast providing a good chill for those hot days of summer, and on the face of the fan a clock appears on the spinning blades.  The blades are soft for safe use, and keeps the time even after removing it from the USB because of internal rechargable batteries. Doesn’t require any installation and the flexible neck lets you point it anywhere – great to stick into the side of a computer as it is quite portable and can be charged by USB.

The post Spinning Fan Clock Displays Time on Speedy LED Blades first appeared on Gajitz.

Teaching a kid to read an analog clock can be like pulling teeth, so chances are kids won’t be thrilled at first with the Albert Clock. The digital display clock requires you to perform math problems to figure out the current time. It sounds like a drag at first, but it’s actually pretty fun once you get used to it.

Albert has four levels of difficulty, letting everyone from little ones to grown-up math whizzes have fun with the unique timepiece. The clock was named after Albert Einstein, but you don’t have to be a genius to figure out its functions.

All you do is perform the equations shown on the display. The top line shows the formula to figure out the hour and the bottom line shows an equation for the minutes.

Designer Alex Schlindlbeck says that, had Einstein owned an Albert Clock, he may have become a math wizard. The clever clock is decorative but it’s also a fun way to work a little brain exercise into every day.

The post Working Time: Clock Makes You Do Math to Find the Time first appeared on Gajitz.

Your typical wall clock has one function – possibly two if it happens to be a cuckoo clock. The Lok family of clocks from designer Helena Franca does more than simply tell the time.

One iteration – the handle clock – features a handle on one side that’s perfect for carrying it around from room to room. It’s even better, however, for hanging up small objects like scarves, jewelry, and other accessories.

The other clock – appropriately named the shelf clock – is equipped with a small, clear shelf. The shelf is handy for holding smaller everyday items like change and keys.

Both clocks are made from laser-cut plexiglass acrylic with hands in a selection of colors. Notches on the body of the clock denote the 12, 3, and 9 positions on the face, with the handle or shelf holding the position of the 6.

The post Double Time: Wall Clocks Moonlight as Stylish Storage first appeared on Gajitz.

Do well-designed home gadgets have to be made for the sole satisfaction and enjoyment of the user? Or is it possible for not-entirely-useful objects to become welcomed parts of the household? Design student Weng Xinyu’s graduation project is entitled “Good Medicine Tastes Bitter,” a quote from the wise Chinese philosopher Confucius.

The meaning of this title becomes clearer when you see how each object interacts with its surroundings. The Angry Lamp, for example, notices when it’s not getting any attention. If there is another lamp on in the room or if the room’s inhabitants leave or ignore it, the lamp turns itself off. And it doesn’t just stop shining – the lamp stands on three legs and a fourth is held up like an arm. When the lamp shuts itself off, it twitches its “arm” to do so, emphasizing the action in a very human way.

Tangible Memory is a bittersweet reminder that even our best memories fade over time. It is a small photo frame that begins to blur the picture over time the longer you don’t interact with it. The frame is meant to hold a snapshot of a cherished moment, and to induce a little tug at the heartstrings when that moment seems to blur into oblivion. Not to fear, though: the picture comes back into focus when you pick up the frame and touch the photo.

Shadow Play, another lamp, takes a slightly less grumpy approach to interacting with its surroundings. The lamp creates shadows and then highlights how they interact with the lamp’s light. Small grass-like shapes behind the lamp’s shade seem to interact with the heat from the bulb, slowly lifting and moving. According to the designer, this creates a poetic interplay between light and shadow.

Finally, Time Killer is a remarkable object all on its own. The clock is made of a log, clock workings, a motion detector, and a built-in sawblade. When no one is in the room, the clock begins to literally kill time. The sawblade goes to work, very slowly moving the blade back and forth through the wood until, presumably, time has been defeated and the clock’s face falls to the floor.

None of these objects are meant to actually be place in consumers’ homes. Rather, they pose some interesting questions about the amount of quirk and lesson-learning we are willing to tolerate in product designs of the future. The objects are not practical or useful so much as they are meant to teach some sort of lesson: use resources wisely, remember your past, enjoy the balance of life, and remember that time is always limited.

The post Terribly Un-useful Home Objects Teach Sneaky Life Lessons first appeared on Gajitz.

What if time were told not by the seconds, minutes, and hours on the clock, but the slow and gradual passage of the months? The inevitable march of time carries on whether we want it to or not, and nature is the perfect intuitive clock. Japanese design group Bril is combining an age-old tradition with a new aesthetic to make a clock (or perhaps it is better referred to as a calendar) with a modern look.

In traditional sake making, a ball of bundled cedar boughs known as a sugidama is used to mark the rice wine’s readiness. The boughs are plucked when the sake is made and slowly fade away to brown over time. It takes them precisely a year to die. When the boughs are completely brown and dead, the sake is ready to drink.

The Coniferous Clock uses the same cedar boughs to measure time. They are mounted on nails in a circular cedar frame and die ever so gradually. At the end of the year you can remove the dead boughs and mount new ones. A swinging pendulum makes the visual distinction between a timepiece and a simple piece of nature-inspired wall art.

The clock won’t tell you anything that you can’t see for yourself by simply looking out a window, but it is a rather pretty way to mark the passage of time without the nerve-grating ticking of clock hands. More importantly, it is a way to bring nature into the home to commune with it in some small way each and every day.

The post Time to Die: Annual Clock Marks Time by Dying Tree Leaves first appeared on Gajitz.