We have never had an easier time knowing what time it is. The answer is everywhere: glowing on our phones, sitting in the corner of our computers, appearing on cars, appliances and watches that can tell us the hour before we have even thought to ask. Yet the easier time becomes to read, the less interesting the act of reading it seems to be. That makes the clock an unexpectedly fertile design object. When accuracy is no longer the challenge, designers can start asking different questions. What should time feel like? Should it move, perform, disappear or demand our attention? Three recent designs offer three very different answers.