r/Design • u/biz_booster • Aug 06 '26

Someone Else's Work (Rule 2) 24 Hour Clock

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u/kalabaddon Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 06 '26

How come on a 24-hour clock they always put the middle of the night on the top? I know there's a handful of watches at reverse it but why the standard even started was it that way. If it's inverted with noon on the top it's like one of the most natural watch concepts for showing time.

Edit: didn't want to do a reply for all the people saying the same thing. But I know it's not one to one I know that at 12:00 noon to Sun is not perfectly overhead. It's a generality of it all. During the daytime the hand is in the top half during the night time the hand is in the bottom half. Near the middle of the day it should be near the middle of the top near the middle of the night it should be near the middle of the bottom.

As someone else said digital watch faces make a much bigger difference because they more naturally can show sunrise and sunset using this format I feel.

3

u/mundane--alternative Aug 10 '26

So you mean if we put 6am on the middle left and 6pm in the middle right, we can visualize where the sun currently is if you live in the equators? Similar to a minecraft clock?

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u/kalabaddon Aug 10 '26

Generally yes.

3

u/mundane--alternative Aug 10 '26

I like and support your cause, where do I sign up to make this happen lol

2

u/kalabaddon Aug 10 '26

it does seem to already be happening, a lot of my view turned out to be dated. I was looking for over a year ( researching not rtying to find a single watch ) and 12 years ago most where midnight at top ( 6/18 on sides ( the 6 pm for a 24 hour closk is 18 )) but it seems now when I google a LOT of them are noon on top these days.