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Finding a truly accessible watch face that remains readable in every environment is often more difficult than it should be. For many, waking up in the middle of the night to check the time means squinting at standard digital displays that appear as an unreadable, glowing blur. True accessibility in watch design should not just be a feature. It should be a necessity at any hour of the day or night.
I realized that reading a precise digital number like “12:42” forced my brain to do a little math, engaging my mind just enough to actually wake me up. I did not need to know the exact minute. I wanted the analog intuition of just glancing at a shape and instantly knowing if I had time to go back to sleep using near zero brain power. That experience led me to design Peek Hour, an accessible watch face that uses high contrast visuals to improve readability for those who may find standard watch faces difficult to see, including those who take their glasses off at night.
At Second Hand Labs, I strive to build designs that solve real-world problems like this one. If it solves the problem for me, others may benefit as well.
Designing an Accessible Watch Face for All
Building a watch face that aims to be more readable for those with low vision, as well as anyone experiencing vision difficulties, presented several unique design hurdles. To solve these, I focused on high-contrast visuals, minimalist architecture, and extreme energy efficiency.
1. Huge Hour Display
For a watch face to be truly readable, the primary information must be undeniable. The hour displays in a huge, thick, and high contrast color, making it as visible as possible even in the dimmest environments. By prioritizing the hour digit, I ensured the information you need most often is always the first thing your eyes land on.
2. Designing Fuzzy Time
Because shapes matter more than numbers when your vision is a blur, I built a visual gauge into the background. The color drains from top to bottom as the hour progresses. Full color means it is the top of the hour. Color in the bottom half means it is 30 minutes past. Even if you cannot read the screen, the color ratio tells you the approximate minutes past the hour, which is good enough for telling the time at night without needing to focus on fine details.
3. The Peek Mechanic
I still wanted digital precision for daytime use, so the exact minutes are neatly tucked right inside the giant hour digit. Even if those smaller numbers are a blur without your glasses, the secondary background gauge is always there to guide you. It is the perfect marriage of precision and readability.
4. Extreme Battery Optimization
A massive hour digit normally uses too much power on an Always On Display. To solve this, I modified the vectors of the font to design a custom outline font with no fill. This allows the brightness to remain high so it is very readable, even though it only uses a maximum of 3.8 percent of the screen pixels. This is well under the Google limit, keeping the screen highly visible without lighting up a dark room.
More Than Just a Nighttime Tool
Peek Hour is my daily driver, day or night. While it keeps the display uncluttered, it hides plenty under the hood. Along with 19 color themes and a step tracker that turns progress dots into hearts for each 10 percent past your original goal, a battery indicator is also included right on screen as well as the date. All options are tappable to get more info. It also features 3 complication slots that are hidden by default to preserve the minimalist aesthetic. I built this accessible watch face to ensure that everyone, regardless of visual acuity, can check the time with ease.
If you wear glasses, have contacts, face greater difficulties with vision, or just appreciate an incredibly clean, simple, and powerful accessible watch face, this may be the design you have been looking for.
I recognize that every individual experiences vision differently, and this design may not be a perfect fit for everyone. I developed Peek Hour to prioritize functional clarity, and I hope it provides a more readable alternative for those navigating their own unique visual needs.
For more information on digital accessibility, you can visit The American Foundation for the Blind.
User Manual
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