Tik Tak Tik Tak

“Live for the moment” is an overused phrase. While the message behind the warning is good, it’s one of the many things in life that can’t be conveyed adequately in words. And as a result, while the “warning” might come with the best intentions, it winds up sounding superficial, at least in my opinion.

Enter the Tik Tak clock. No words are needed to understand the meaning behind this piece, which is one of the things I think great designs have in common. Every minute is exploded onto powder-coated steel stems of varying length and the second hand is even made red to represent how quickly time passes.

Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe, the Tik Tak’s creators, claim on their own website that the mission behind their work is to create products that challenge you to change perspectives and the way you look at the world. While they may not have told us anything we don’t already know, they definitely succeed in presenting the complicated vortex that is time. Whether you feel trapped by it, like there’s not enough of it, or like you can’t keep up with it, the Tik Tak sure makes looking at it far more interesting.