The Summit Lite model blends the brand’s prestige and heritage with the latest technology, a single stylish device with impressive functionality.

The challenge was to create a flexible design system that could transition seamlessly between time display, activity tracker and other apps – helping the wearer stay on top of fitness, sleep, and energy with ease. It also needed a functional design system that didn’t compromise on style and usability, for a watch that works perfectly in the boardroom and at the gym.

Bringing Summit Lite’s minimal design aesthetic to life involved a number of important considerations, particularly for the active face. The constraint of a circular screen created its own challenge. To avoid unwieldy blocks of text set in a narrow column, we used radial charts to display key data around the circumference.

We mixed colour, a larger font size, and spacing to break up chunks of information, improving legibility. And where possible we avoided central alignment, using a grid system that allowed the text to be set left instead. The paired-back design was practical too – it reduced the amount of lit pixels, preserving battery life.

We were relentless in our pursuit of design excellence. During the apps and screens design phase, we provided different solutions to each design problem, as best practice. Following feedback, we were then able to either narrow our options and iterate on just one or two – or to continue iterating multiple solutions to our suite of options, as required. The final results were the products of hours of finely-tuned collaboration and discussion, after dozens and dozens of design options were presented.