hans.gerwitz

In 2005 I briefly antic­i­pated Buro Vormkrijgers’s Pong® Clock. I later forgot about it.

But I just discovered John Maushammer’s Pong Watch and have to have one. The concept may not be original, but his design is inspired. The mini­malist prototype cases, PIC code that adapts to low battery levels, and aesthetic PCB layout all demon­strate enough perfec­tionism to ensure a quality build without para­lyzing the builder.

I dropped Maushammer an email pleading for a copy, and he responded that he’s looking into salable production. I’m more excited than I could be if I ordered a mass-​​produced watch, because I can follow how he has thought about the build so care­fully. And that’s how I define design: thought­fulness applied to building.

(If I were writing fiction with a char­acter that care­fully designs small things, I don’t think I could come up with a better name than Maushammer.)