Type: Art direction, photography and packaging
Client: anOrdain

AnOrdain is a Scottish watchmaker known for its expertise hand crafting enamel watch dials. I began working on visual concepts for anOrdain in 2015, a few years prior to its eventual launch. My aim from the beginning was to create a visual identity that captured not only the beauty and uniqueness of the products, but also the people and craftsmanship behind their creation.

Product Photography: anOrdain Model 1 Fumé / anOrdain Model 2
The very first images I took for anOrdain were not of wrist watches but of our studio floor littered with enamelling tools, watchmaking equipment and other clutter. The images weren't so much a carefully arranged collage as an accurate snapshot of how our studio happened to look at that moment in time. One of those images became the picture at the top of our homepage, and it remained there, for probably a little longer than it should.

Early anOrdain images
From the beginning, rather than clearing all the clutter away during photoshoots, I consciously made it a feature of many of the images, as I realised that these tools and off-cuts were, to some degree, what made us unique and set us apart from other British watch companies, who were largely outsourcing their manufacturing at that time.

Watchmakers and enamelists at work in the studio
Today anOrdain employs over 15 designers and makers, whilst there is a 5-year waiting list to own one of its timepieces.

anOrdain print and website examples

Documenting the stages in making an enamel watch dial