The goal of this project was to design a simple ‘clock’ that told time through an alternative unit of measurement. Off the Record uses music to keep track of time lapses. Inspired by the mechanisms of a record player, it has an adjustable hand that moves in a spiral, outwards in. While the clock hand traverses along the spiral, music plays through dangling bells attached to the hand. Users can select ‘records’ depending on how much time he or she would like to spend on a certain activity. Time is up when it reaches the end and the music stops.

For this project, I was inspired by the fact that many people would use playlists to keep track of time, for example in the shower or at the gym. After going through many different design stages, the final project includes a wooden base which contains a circuit with an Arduino, servo motor, and on-off switch; laser-cut records; a laser-cut adjustable hand (for adjustment in the z-direction); and a 3D-printed hand holder (for adjustment in the radial direction). The user can easily remove the hand to switch out the record and flip the switch: Off the Record will do the rest.

​Don’t let your life spiral out of control: keep time to the beat with Off the Record.