Fossil wants you to design their next Q Watch face

Fossil has been showing indications lately that they are banking hard on the smartwatch market, which is a bold move considering smartwatches aren’t doing as well as many people would have hoped. However, Fossil wants to ramp up user investment by putting the design tools in your capable hands.

That’s right, the Fossil Q Watch Design Contest is now officially on. The company has set up a design system on their website that lets you start with the basic building blocks of the Q Wander, Marshal, or Founder. From there, you can download the template and then work your artistic mastery on the tiny circular canvas.

Once you’re done, you can submit your design, and a panel of judges will review all the submissions to pick out the top five. After that, users will vote on the winning face.

Here’s how it works:

• Visit the Q Design Contest landing page and download one of the three templates available. Print the template and paint/sketch on it (you’ll need to scan it later), or make this a digital project using your favorite design app.
• Submit your design by October 19 and tell us a bit about the inspiration behind it. A panel of judges will pick the top five designs, and after that, it’s up to voters to decide on the winner.
• We’ll reward ten voting fans with a Fossil Q Touchscreen Smartwatch while the winning designer will also receive a grand prize of $2,000, a smartwatch and their design will be available (to wear) next spring.

$2,000 isn’t bad for an afternoon scribbling a watch design. Submissions are already coming in, and Fossil is showcasing some of the top designs on the contest’s promo page. Click the button below to check them out, and don’t forget to submit your design before October 19. And if someone makes a Goldeneye-themed design, they’ll have my personal thanks.

Let us know what you think of the Fossil Q Watch Design Contest in the comments below! Will you be contributing?