Tangram
A foldable focus timer for digital nomads.
Tangram is a compact physical productivity tool that folds from a portable disc into a focused desktop timer. A rotating control ring, a folding body, and tactile interaction create a distraction-free way to manage focus time — and to stay aware of the world you're working across.
The problem with time, for people who work everywhere.
For digital nomads, time isn't a fixed schedule — it's a moving overlap of zones. Existing tools separate time tracking from time-zone awareness, forcing constant mental math.
Working across 3+ zones triggers mental context-switching ~12× a day, draining focus into decision fatigue. Tools show raw data, not meaning.
Nomads already live on a crowded screen. A physical object you can spin, tap, or open signals “working mode” far faster than one more widget — without pulling you back into the display.
Nomads prize untethered devices; most want one that lasts a full working week. A low-power display + BLE targets ~10-day battery, so it travels light.
Tangram doesn't just count down — it turns focus into a tangible ritual, and makes the active-work state legible across distant places.
From loose forms to a folding disc.
Early exploration ran through cubes, hexagons, domes, and bottle forms before converging on a compact disc that opens. Sketching centred on how the object sits in the hand, how it transforms, and how a single gesture — rotating a ring — could carry the whole interaction.
One object, two modes.
Unfolding. The final architecture folds flat to carry and hinges open into a standing desktop timer — a four-step transformation that lifts the OLED face upright while the weighted base keeps it stable.
Form & colour. The folding structure and hinge were refined across the CMF range, in warm and cool anodized-aluminum tones.
Mechanism & materials.
Inside. A CNC-machined aluminum body houses a contactless system — an integrated magnet ring tracks the rotating dial through a sensor beneath it, so there's no mechanical wear. A base-mounted Li-Po pack lowers the centre of gravity; the MCU runs the timer logic and Bluetooth; ultra-thin FPC ribbon cables route through the hollow hinge axle to the moving display.
Interaction. Rotate the base ring to set the focus duration; tap and rotate to browse countries and read local time. When a session ends, the focus data syncs to the companion app over Bluetooth.
The timer, as a digital interface.
The mobile app is a companion to the physical timer, extending it into a digital interface — add and manage multiple time zones, customise workflows, and sync your daily schedule with the device over Bluetooth.
Unlike timer apps built only around countdowns, it supports dynamic, multi-region work — helping nomads understand when to work, not just how long.
A quick read on active time zones and daily productivity — compare local times across countries while tracking total focus.
Add and manage multiple countries by workflow — coordinate international schedules and switch between working environments.
Completed focus sessions and productivity across locations — monitor habits, compare focus scores, review daily patterns.
Deeper insight into a session — productivity rate, completed tasks, distractions, and active hours, turned into feedback.
