Made by Iceland
Client: NORR / Process of Motion
NORR Identity Design: Madeleine Karlsson
Photogrammetry: George Andrea
Sound Design: Ola W. Tappert
Dog: Marley
Strategy, Direction & Creation: Daniel Danielsson
Product launch film for fictional watch brand NORR, created as a Case Study project for the Motion Design course Process of Motion.
A smart (but not full of itself) watch
Smartwatches have come a long way. But most still feel like simply taping your phone to your wrist. Very much a piece of plasticky tech that tethers you to social media and always-on culture.
Not this one.
I imagined a watch that didn’t buzz every time a cat pic got posted to the internet. Something to get you out of the digital world & into the real one. A watch that’s smart – but not full of itself.
Connected with naturE
The timepiece is designed specifically for the active & outdoorsy type: Advanced navigation, biometrics, emergency connectivity, and above all; durability, even in extreme situations.
Every aspect of the watch is crafted to work in nature, both technically and emotionally. Out of the wild it is still a 'normal' smartwatch and designer timepiece that remains an emotional connection to nature.
WATCH DESIGN
VOLCANIC INSIDE AND OUT
The technology inside is just as impressive. Full-colour e-ink display, worldwide connectivity, ultra light-sensitive camera, Katla core processor, and more. All powered by a thermo-magmatic battery, that draws its charge from residual energy in your skin. Because there are no chargers on the mountain.
The watch case is carved from a single piece of reinforced volcanic rock, hand-picked by native Icelandic dvergr. Each timepiece numbered and engraved with the exact time & location of the eruption that created it.
USER Interface
If this timepiece was going to be truly adapted for the outdoors, the interface of a smart watch had to be completely reconsidered. No tiny touchscreen that becomes inoperable in rain or with cold fingers. Instead the interaction is a fully tactile experience, inspired by traditional watches rather than smartphones.
The full functionality of a NORR watch can be accessed and controlled with taps and twists of the top bezel or the crown, with many features accessible through voice command (if the wind conditions allow it).
BEHIND THE SCENES
2,825,568 SECONDS
This wasn't your average project. The Process of Motion course was to include project files from this Case Study project. That meant that I couldn't use a single pre-existing assets. Everything had to be created from scratch.
Every second of work was recorded – all 2,825,568 of them – and turned into 5 hours of breakdown videos with commentary. For those desperate for moar, the top tier of the course includes over 22 hours of bonus time-lapses of all the CG work.
