Target ONE – The scar
look,
let me tell you the story behind this dial.
I was flying back from a family vacation in Mexico.
one of those long flights you take to return to your job and all the lovely mental noise that comes with being a functioning adult.
had my mac open,
working on what would eventually become the Target one.
…pixel here, pixel there. all very innocent
until it wasn’t
somewhere around 35,000 feet,
the plane hit turbulence
not your little “oops” bump. no.
this one came without warning—no ding, no friendly captain voice
just one brutal, clean hit. like someone detonated a building right under the fuselage.
The whole plane shook like we’d been slapped by a sky giant.
hard.
trays flew.
a baby started screaming like it was summoning spirits…
right in front of me, a guy clasped his hands and started praying loudly—
like god only tunes in when the volume’s up
next to him,
a woman yelled that she didn’t want to die alone.
a few rows back,
a man burst into tears and confessed to his wife all the times he’d cheated on her,
crying like a teenage drama student,
as if turbulence and sobbing might buy him a reboot on his relationship.
Meanwhile,
i was still there. mac on my lap.
trying not to panic,
also holding onto my daughter.
then another angry punch from the sky.
more screams
more crying
my mac flew. So did whatever peace of mind was left on board
and then…
calm.
like nothing had happened.
“clear air turbulence,” the captain said.
…invisible to radars. and apparently to god.
I grabbed my mac,
and there it was.
a single, crooked photoshop stroke.
right across the dial i was designing.
my first reaction:
“shi**t, i dragged the brush by accident”
was gonna delete it… obviously.
but then i thought…
wait,
what if i leave it?
because that messy line?
that was part of it.
that was the turbulence. the fear. the chaos.
a Scar.
not designed, but very, very real.
so i left it in.
and now,
when you install this dial, you’ll see that little imperfection
that glitch.
that’s the exact spot where the plane almost cracked in half.
not joking.
and because i actually enjoy designing watch faces,
i added an option so you can show or hide it:
“drama mode: on / off”
because maybe you don’t want to wear someone else’s panic attack on your wrist.
but if you leave it on—
know this:
that line isn’t a mistake.
it’s a reminder.
that even pixels can shake.
and sometimes a design comes with a backstory, not just colors and clean angles.
this is Target One.
built mid-air.
in fear, in tremors, with confessions, and yep—some black comedy.
like most good things.
you like it? don’t like it?
up to you.
just know—
when you see that scar?
someone up there was trying to make peace with cheating on his coworker in 2018.
drama mode: on.
or not.
your choice.
— david
