Case #31507135: Review Standards and Criteria of Submitted Clock Face.

[JCMe2]

I raised the case with Fitbit support and was told by Miriam T (Fitbit Team) to repost my queries here 'and a one development team will contact me directly.' The issues concerned are raised in the letter/notes I sent the Support Team:

Hi

I have some questions I hope the Fitbit Review team for Gallery Publication could clarify. I have received a rejection for my submission "Summer in Jewel” to the Fitbit Gallery at https://gam.fitbit.com/apps/514a3b545ab8

The reason for the rejection:

“Due to the fact that this ClockFace content is not different or does not offer significant new value compared to existing apps (Summer), we have declined your submission. For cases when the only difference is the background image, you can add an option in the clock face settings for users to select the desired background image. Please consult the following link for more information: https://dev.fitbit.com/legal/app-gallery-guidelines/ “

Summer” is a clock that I’ve submitted earlier to the Fitbit gallery, available through a public link at https://gallery.fitbit.com/details/001fba44-2a61-4f58-b0bc-2af706e2599d. It is DIGITAL CLOCK designed specially for more senior Fitbit users with weak eyesights who prefer large fonts for easy reading. It had a pic of a summer scene of leaves and a simple to understand user interface.

Let’s clarify:

"Summer in Jewel” is primarily an ANALOG CLOCK with secondary digital time reading. Apart from the fitness numbers on the left panel, designed with the motifs of traveling luggage, the main analog clock face comes with an animated sun dial that depicts the movement of the sun shinning through the roof of the Jewel complex (renowned Jewel Changi) and the centerpiece waterfall.

The various design elements of "Summer in Jewel”, involved hours in the creation process and are uniquely created for this clock:

- Hand drawn Photoshop/Illustrator motif of the hour hand in the shape of an aeroplane and the luggage motifs (containers for fitness readings)

- Instead of Fitbit icons, an entire different set of fitness icons (luggage containers) were selectively applied.

- A sun dial with gradient effect specially created for the animation using Photoshop. The effect is included to show the movement of the sun light reflected through the roof and the waterfall, an attraction of the development.

- An actual photo taken on location at Jewel Changi Airport was included as part of the design. It is impossible to replace the background as suggested by the Review team without changing the entire theme of the clock, including animation effect.

- in order not to overload the clock, we have ensured a simple test on optimization in the use of some coding convention and design elements such as graphic sizes etc.

Essentially, ‘Summer’ is designed for Senior with weak eyes with large numbers (hence green background). On the other hand, ‘Summer in Jewel’ is a whimsical souvenir theme clock for travelers to Jewel Changi Airport, for that special tropical summer vacation.

Both clocks are designed for different users in mind. Much efforts have gone from conceptualization to implementation and finally, submission. Hence it is quite disheartening to receive a template reply for the rejection that doesn’t make sense at all.

It seems to me the rejection was activated by a badly programmed AI. My team and I are pretty stuck at the moment as to how to proceed with Fitbit development projects at hand. The template reply is of no help at all. The special consideration that have gone into designing with different users in mind have been dismissed with such careless disregard and deemed of “no significant value” like pieces of trash pointing to a seemingly unrelated issues.

Could the Fitbit Review Team clarify what added value is relevant in the comparison between an analog clock designed for holidaymaker and that of a digital watch designed specially for senior citizens?

Thanks in advance.

Regards

(Let’s design a Fitbit clock that makes you smile)

[JonFitbit]

I've spoken with the review team about this, and we agree it's not a duplicate. Please resubmit it.