Most clocks reveal time through simple rotation. The Moiré Clock, designed by Felix Cooper and Amber Li for their collective STATION Design, takes a more theatrical approach. It uses overlapping patterns to create a visual phenomenon where numbers appear to scale and shift as the clock face rotates through a stationary filter.
The moiré effect—that trippy interference pattern you get when overlapping grids or lines—isn’t often employed for functional purposes. But Cooper and Li saw potential in marrying the effect’s kinetic properties with clock movement. Hours materialize and fade as the rotating paper face passes through the filter, creating subtle animations every few minutes.
The project started as a custom glyph set testing moiré animations, then evolved into a clock body using a single strip of metal encasing the entire face. It’s an elegant solution that prioritizes material efficiency—a necessity when you’re manufacturing everything yourself.
And they do mean everything. STATION Design operates with serious commitment to vertical integration and local sourcing. The steel comes from offcuts at Metals Supermarket in Cranberry, Pennsylvania. The paper is milled by French Paper Company in Niles, Michigan. Even the quartz movements are from Takane, the sole American manufacturer. They also produced three stainless steel versions for durability.
Cooper, an industrial designer, and Li, a graphic designer and typographer, brought complementary skills—his mechanical expertise meeting her graphic sensibility. Both are recent Carnegie Mellon grads who founded STATION with two other designers from their program.
The collective’s first product drop sold out completely. Their approach mirrors streetwear’s limited release model, creating scarcity while keeping production manageable. The line includes wallets from scrap leather, train whistles from reclaimed shipping container lumber, and a RISO-printed calendar on Michigan-milled paper.
The first run was limited to 30 units, balancing high-quality materials with accessibility—no small feat when sourcing responsibly and manufacturing in-house.
Whether the moiré effect justifies itself over a standard clock face is debatable. But as proof that young designers can build vertically integrated brands straight out of school, it’s compelling work. STATION plans to restock soon, and the first drop’s sellout suggests there’s appetite for thoughtfully made, locally sourced design objects.