An Analysis of Clock Design in terms of Analogical Thinking

ABSTRACT Clocks are designed as an object with definite boundaries to an entity with no definite physical form like time. The study is aimed to examine the sources that inspire the forms designed to create the perception of time. The method of the study is the descriptive case study, one of the qualitative research methods. An evaluation was made on the examples with the single case design approach, one of the case analysis designs. The case under consideration is analogies that inspired designers in time presentation. The selected examples were analysed within the framework of “analogies by similarity aspects”, “analogies by the distance between target and source domains”, and “analogies according to level of abstraction”. The examples were determined among those who prioritised the unique aspects of time in the presented forms and analysed within the analogy classifications framework. In the samples, analogies based on transferring the qualities of time as an indefinite abstract entity as sources to the clock as the target are analysed. The study presents an analogical thinking framework for design fields. Focusing on these taxonomies regarding the similarity, distance and abstraction levels while brainstorming for the source domains can influence originality and effectiveness in developing incremental and radical discourses