It started with a very ordinary problem
A few years ago, I was washing my car in front of the garage and realised I had no easy way to check the time. My phone was, naturally, somewhere safe and far enough away not to get wet, but also far enough away to make walking over to it feel like unnecessary cardio. So I bought the biggest radio controlled wall clock I could find, mounted it where I could see it from outside and for quite a while it did its job perfectly well.
The garage improved. The clock didn’t.
A new garage is a dangerous thing because it changes your standards. Suddenly, an ordinary plastic wall clock is no longer just a clock. It becomes a design offence hanging on an otherwise respectable wall. I wanted something more automotive, more distinctive and better suited to the space. Unfortunately, I could not find anything I genuinely liked. Most of the available clocks were only around 10 inches in diameter. Perfectly adequate for a kitchen, but rather less convincing on a garage wall. The few larger and more interesting options cost roughly the sort of money normally reserved for another set of tyres.
So I decided to make my own.
Inspired by the best kind of old school
I have always liked the old-school typeface used by the VAG Group. It takes me straight back to the 1980s, the era of the Golf Mk2, the Audi 80 and, of course, classic Porsche 911 dashboards. Back then, you could understand every instrument without a software update or a degree in interface design. I took the old wall clock apart, carefully measured the inner diameter and started drawing a new dial.
I kept the character of the classic VAG typography, but based the overall design on the rev counter from older Porsches (most likely the 964). That is how my first Porsche wall clock was born. A clock that looked as though it might hit the redline at any moment.
Great design, slightly complicated timekeeping
There was only one small problem. After a few days, I discovered that my questionable childhood ability to read an analogue clock had not improved with age. The rev-counter layout looked fantastic, but checking the time required roughly the same level of concentration as calculating the perfect braking point. So I rearranged the numbers into the traditional clock order while keeping as much of the rev-counter character as possible.
The hands looked better than they worked
I printed the graphic, painted the hands red and assembled everything again. The red hands were, of course, perfect from an original Porsche design perspective. From the perspective of someone trying to read the time from across the driveway, they were rather less successful. I later painted them white.
Less motorsport? Perhaps. More useful? Absolutely.
Want your own custom porsche wall clock?
If you would like to transform your wall clock into a custom Porsche wall clock, send me its dimensions and I can prepare an individual graphic specifically for your clock. The design can also be adapted to your preferred Porsche model, instrument style, colours or other personal details. For your own custom clock design, simply send me a message.
