AI really is making its way into every corner of modern society. In 2026, it feels like you can get AI functionality in everything from kitchen appliances to cars.
Recently, Swatch unveiled a new tool, designed to let users design their own watch with the help of a proprietary AI tool called Swatch AI Dada. It’s a relatively familiar format for those used to using AI platforms – a prompt box asks for design ideas in 300 characters or less, with a blank Swatch model on the side ready to be painted with whatever is designed.
Anything your heart desires
Users can enter up to three prompts per day, allowing you to tweak them until you get something resembling your ideas. I’ve actually used it a couple of times now, owing to a staggered rollout in different regions.
Still, this time the whole thing felt a lot more assured. I popped in a prompt about analog photography and rolls of film, all presented on a yellow and pink background, and what came out was perfectly suited to that.
You’ll see in the pictures below, the unmistakable silhouette of a roll of 35mm film, perforations and all. There’s also the iconic yellow canister made famous by the likes of Kodak, and a couple of cameras.
The missing piece
The latter is the hardest part of the design to see, with the narrow strap width not really able to showcase the wide camera body with ease. And it’s that issue which clicked on the lightbulb, and helped me to see exactly what this service is missing to make it perfect – a fuller print of the design.
Imagine, if you will, a full A4 print of the design, spread out over the entire page. You’d be able to gain added context and detail, which simply isn’t possible on the narrower strap, and have a cool, one-of-a-kind print to match with your cool, one-of-a-kind watch.
There’s no reason why it should balloon the cost exponentially – the generation is already taking place, we’re simply expanding it a little – but I think it’d add a lot of value for users.