Christian Pugsley

Product Design & Strategy +

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inprove macroscopic the grounded company publisher arts adaptic watches web design concert photography

academic

MA/MSc global innovation design BSc multi-disciplinary design writing

other

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Adaptic Watches

A minimal, durable watch for every scenario.

TLDR:
Adaptic Watches is a minimal watch brand designed to be worn in any situation—indoor or outdoor, formal or informal. The project was successfully funded on Kickstarter and watches were sold online from 2016-2019. All product design, branding, web design, and content creation, and business operations were done as a single man team, with help from friends and family.

Features:
GQ Britain Magazine
Glamour Magazine
Wired Magazine

Dates: May 2016 – May 2019
Role: Founder, Designer
Kickstarter: Funded, 2016

Adaptic grew from my frustration with the watch industry and their way of marketing “functional” watches – ie. a watch that is water and scratch resistant, but sold with a leather band (which can’t get wet or scratched) and extra bands sold separately.

It’s just impractical, so why can’t we do both?

1 leather strap for inside.
1 nylon strap for outside.
1 functional watch.

Watches in the late 2010’s were going through a popular resurgence on social media platforms, with brands like MVMT and Arlo (now Nema) Watches pushing cheap yet functional watches for active people.

Kickstarter

97 backers
$15,479 raised

Product

6 months of design, testing & development

Manufacturing

Overseas fabrication & assembly

Packaging

Designed & assembled in-house

Concept

“Why can’t I just have one watch that works for everything?”

Born from the “NATO Strap” watch band, a strap designed to help soldiers in WWI not lose their timepiece, the idea for the brand revolved around the idea of exchangeability and adaptability to any situation.

So interchangeable bands, one leather and one nylon, are included with each watch face to help truly push that idea of multi-use. And with the body being manufactured from stainless steel and a quartz crystal face, durability and water resistance aren’t an issue either.

Development

Early sketch concepts revolved around a minimalistic styled watch to fit in with what's currently popular on the market. I was prototyping initially with 3D printed casings and backs and individually purchased watch movements for basic proofs of concept. I hoped initially to actually 3D print the final casings, and assemble the watch start to finish at home, but it ended up being a massive amount of work, and I knew far too little about the manufacturing process to make that actually a possibility.

I initially went through multiple case iterations, but I was able to work with a manufacturer to put together a finished version and subsequent renderings. We then got samples manufactured, made some revisions, and put through the first round of manufacturing.

Brand & Lifestyle

The mark was intended to stay simplistic and clean, with the name hinting at the intent of the brand. But outside of a clean and minimal look and feel, I wanted Adaptic Watches to be more than that. Not that it’s a very unique idea, but I wanted to show the kind of lifestyle that inspired the project to begin with.

Adaptable, minimal, and functional. Inside or outside, Adaptic is the right watch for every situation. The majority of the lifestyle photos were all taken by me, minus the few I’m in. But I also wanted to push the community aspect of adventure, and that played a big part in designing the website.

Website

I built the site to be a place where the brand could keep growing, but also showcase the capabilities of the watch and the lifestyle. But a big part of building the brand to begin with was to encourage adventure and socialization. So why not let the site be a place for others to showcase how they live their lives.

Collaborations

I put together the lyfestyle section specifically with that purpose in mind. Each collaborator got a selection of product to use however they use it, then we showcase their work on our site to build that collaborative relationship. Each gallery had no requirements, just show off your style in whatever way you see fit.

Here are a few of the collaborations worth highlighting:

Christian Santiago

Provo, UT | website

Paul Stanley

Long Island, NY | instagram

Tim Felton

Amherst, MA | instagram

Reflection

Adaptic Watches was up and running for three years until I made the decision to shut the doors to pursue other passions and projects. Such a phenomenally fun project that allowed for an excuse to explore the full lifecycle process of creating a product and a business, as well as an opportunity to recognize all the parts of a business that I never want to be in charge of.

On to the next startup.