Watch OS7 has been out for a few weeks now. Since purchasing my very first Apple Watch, the Series 0, on the very first day they were available, I’ve been interested in Apple’s development of different watch faces. I’ve tried many. Currently, I am using 4 different faces throughout the day. From 5:20am in the morning until 4:01pm, I use the Infograph Modular face. From 7:01pm until 5:20am, I use the Modular face. On Sundays, I am using the Stripes face configured to the colors of my favorite NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys, from 9am until 7:01pm. These are not the faces I intend to write about today. While I like each of them for different reasons, the face I want to write about is the one I use from 4:01pm until 7:01pm weekdays and from 9:00am until 7:01pm on the weekends; the Artist face. 

In this post I will…

1. Tell you what led me to try to this face out.

2. Why I am using it when I do.

3. How it makes me feel.

What led me to trying this face out…

I have no idea who Geoff McFetridge (insert link) is. I need to look more into his work. I say this because of how I felt when I first saw the Artist as an option for watch faces in the current OS update of Apple Watch. The simplicity of the watch face is what drew me to it so I’m wondering if McFetridge’s other work has simplicity as a theme. As I stated above, my main watch face is the Infograph Modular and…like most who use it…I have that face “maxed out” to give me as much information during the day that it (and I) can handle. The Artist watch face is the Yin to the Infograph Modular’s Yang! McFetridge’s use of color was another feature that drew me to this unique, literal, array of faces. The colors feel pastoral to me and the face changes each time you tap on the display. I’ve read that it should also change when you raise your wrist. I haven’t noticed this yet and am actually happy it does not as I like finding the faces I’m in the mood to see. Finally, the manner in which time is delivered via this face is quite profound. The numbers act as “eyes” blinking as each minute passes.

Why I am using it when I do…

I have an automation set up via the Shortcuts app for my watch face to change from Infograph Modular to the Artist each weekday at 4:01pm. I am usually finished with work for the day at this time. Teaching remotely from home has increased my eyes on screens dramatically. I’m looking at all sorts of data all day long along with student work and, as I mentioned, I have 5 complications that give me data all day long on the Infograph Modular watch face. By the time 4:01pm comes along…I need a break from all of that information and the Artist watch face is the perfect “break” for my weary eyes.

How it makes me feel…

As soon as I feel the haptic “thump” on my wrist that tells me it is 4pm…I know I’m 60 seconds away from the Artist taking over for a few hours. That makes me feel really good. The Artist watch face has had a calming effect on me since I’ve created the automation to run during the work week. It also serves as a signal to me that I should relax…that I’ve put in a hard day’s work and should move on to focusing on other things. On the weekends the Artist watch face continues to be a beautiful reminder that data, weather, and to-do’s…they all do not need to be attended to “now.” When I check the time between 4:01pm and 7:01pm during the week and at any time during the weekend, the Artist watch face brings me joy. I love looking at the “eyes” of the face…which are the actual numbers telling me what time it is.

In Closing…

If you own an Apple Watch and have not tried out the Artist watch face, I strongly urge you to give it a try. Think about a time of day that you could use a break from whatever other watch face you are currently using and see what effect the Artist watch face has on you. If you’re anything like me, a Type “A” personality that cares more about getting things done most days than he does himself, you might just find (as I have) that the Artist watch face helps you stop and reflect on what’s really important; thus answering the question I pose in the title of this post.