Interview about Artalex ET 101 Smartwatch Face, winner of the A' Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design Award 2025
The Artalex Et 101 redefines smartwatch aesthetics with a design inspired by the Bauhaus movement, blending geometric precision with functional elegance. Its lowercase typography enhances readability while adding a modern, approachable charm. A standout feature is the subtle progress ring above the step count, providing an elegant visual cue for tracking daily fitness goals. Reflecting Bauhaus principles of structure and simplicity, the design features a meticulously crafted grid based layout, ensuring essential data is presented in a clean, harmonious, and user friendly manner.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsI treated Bauhaus geometry as both an artistic anchor and a functional grid. The watch face relies on strict proportional divisions to create calm visual rhythm. This geometric discipline then guided where the time, date and activity details should live so the interface stays elegant and immediately readable.
The ring is deliberately quiet because I wanted fitness data to feel integrated, not intrusive. It tells a story without breaking the minimal mood of the design.
My background in interactive art taught me to design with rhythm, spacing and user flow in mind. This mindset directly shaped how the grid and typography work together.
The lowercase typography came from studying calm interfaces that avoid visual shouting. Lowercase creates a friendlier, more conversational relationship between the watch and its wearer.
The challenge was preserving the geometric logic without letting the circle distort the composition. I redesigned spacing, corner paddings and alignments so the layout feels native on both formats.
I started by defining the absolute essentials. Everything else was removed. This ensured the health indicators appear as part of the design rather than additional modules.
The design began as a strict geometric sketch. After multiple user feedback cycles, it evolved into a softer, more approachable composition without losing its structural roots.
The Artalex Et 101 Smartwatch Face is a concentrated expression of everything the Artalex brand stands for. It merges geometric discipline with emotional calm, presenting an interface that feels crafted rather than engineered. It reflects my vision for wearable design by showing that technology can communicate with clarity while still carrying artistic intent.
This design champions the idea that wearable interfaces can be simultaneously artistic and efficient. It suggests a shift toward interfaces that feel curated rather than crowded.
One of the strongest insights I can share is that successful interface design grows from constraint. When you limit your visual tools and focus deeply on purpose, you create space for artistry to emerge naturally within functionality. The Et 101 project taught me that a watch face is not only a layout challenge. It is a communication design exercise where clarity, emotion and usability must coexist.
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