A watch, watching out for you

bACKGROUND

As a part of my interview process with Garmin I was challenged to "design a new aviation watch". I challenged myself to design new features that could be used with only two physical buttons. These features are aimed at helping student and recreational pilots with tasks that I often see them struggle with in the cockpit.

Problem

Based on observations during my 600+ hours of flight instruction, I had found some reoccurring problems my students face:
Lack of situational awareness when entering the pattern Disconnect of knowledge related to the severity and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Difficulty making quick changes to aircraft weight and balance and flight planning
Struggle to estimate direction, distance, and time during a diversion

User Persona

Josh

22, Single, Student, New Jeresey

Goals:

  • Become a private pilot
  • Fly with family and friends on trips
  • Be safe and confident in his aeronautical decision making

Frustrations:

  • Has a lot to learn in a short period of time
  • Difficulty visualizing newly learned concepts
  • Cockpit is small with limited storage

Intial Sketches

The Solution

Presents the H1-re watch...

Altitude

Features

Flight plan

CO detection

pattern entry

weight shift

nearest restuarant

Content Map

Design Process

Initial watch face designs and icons were explored and finalized within Adobe Illustrator. I also created a logo and brand assets to support the futuristic and minimalist visual themes of the watch. The name "2d Aviation" was a play on Garmin's current "D2 Aviator" watch.

Icons were created on a grid to ensure similar visual weights

They were then brought into blender, extruded, and given a frosted glass material.

I also created a basic watch in blender to help match the look I was going for.

Comments, questions, concerns... angry gestures?

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