Less is more for French designer’s sleek new smartwatch

Luo Songsong

IN French, Névo means “new” and “evolution,” according to French designer Christophe Branchu, founder of Névo, a smartwatch company. He considers his stylish, minimalist smartwatch to be a natural evolution in the market.

“Wearables are a new, expanding market and we wanted to ride the wave. As it was always hard for us to choose a watch or a fitness band to wear, I decided to design something I would like to wear on a daily basis,” said Branchu.

Branchu first organized a workshop to kick off the project and then continued to develop the product with another French consultant.

Design is always a challenge. Bringing ideas to life when confronted with technical limitations can be difficult. It’s very important for a designer to collaborate with the engineers from the beginning, said Branchu.

Instead of working from an electronic basis, the design team tried to figure out how to find the right balance between a timeless product and the cool, new features a modern watch needs to have.

Last year, the team raised US$400,000 for their product — a stylish, minimalist watch that tracks the wearer’s activity and sends notifications to a users smartphone — on Indiegogo, a crowdfunding platform.

From Branchu’s viewpoint, Shenzhen is an amazing city for entrepreneurs from all over the world thanks to its abundance of industrial factories and investment companies.

“The city itself is constantly evolving and improving. I love Shenzhen for this reason. Its dynamism really pushes me forward,” said Branchu. “Entrepreneurship means challenge, concession and efficiency.”

“My main plan is to bring Névo to the top in terms of design and branding. The Indiegogo campaign was the first step, and we are working on many great things for Névo,” he said.