I’m an archaeologist and university professor at the University of Algarve (Southern Portugal). I was born in the capital, Lisbon, but I’ve been living in the South for the last 10 years (moved when I was 28 years old). I have strong connections to US since my “other half” is from Oregon, US.

Other than that, I’m a Mac geek. I’ve been using Macs for the last 5 years, ever since I fell in love for its design, OS and applications. (Made some switchers out of my friends, family and students… I’m quite proud of that.)

You have a technique for how you keep your desktop organized, could you tell us more about the Fluid Desktop Wonder?

I’m very visually oriented when I’m working on a computer. I like a beautiful, uncluttered, organized environment. Therefore I pay extra attention to wallpapers, icons, and organization of folders and files techniques. This means I’m always searching — online, of course — for the right image or icon. And for the most fluid way to keep my stuff organized in the hard drive.

I found out that for me what’s out of my view is normally out of my attention, so I manage to have my most used folders in my sightline. That means they must be on my desktop… but not exactly. :) Let me explain —

Currently on my desktop I have the aliases (an alias is a small file that represents a file or folder) of 6 permanent folders. They are all placed on the left side, so they don’t get mixed up with temporary files that generally end up on the right side of the desktop (see Fig. 1, of the full desktop). They are not the real folders, since the real ones are not residing on the desktop, but instead they are neighbors of the Documents Folder (example: ~/Documents, ~/Downloads, ~/Pictures, ~/New Folder…) or within the Documents (~/Documents/New Folder).

I make aliases of them so I can have easy access while still maintaining the folders in their regular place. (Note: to do that you ctrl+click the folder or file in question and then choose Make Alias. That will create the alias folder or file that you can then move wherever without changing the original item’s place. (See Fig. 2.)

Of those 6 folders, 2 of them are network connections between my MacBook Pro and my iMac (lovingly called Geekmac). Basically they are like conduits to the other computer. As long as I have the network working I can send or receive files in between the MBP and the iMac. (Think of these folders as hyperspace wormholes.)

The other 4 folders are the ones related to my classes; one for each class that I’m currently teaching (for anyone else, these could be folders related with different projects). Again these are only aliases, since the real ones live as sub-folders of the general Documents folder. In them (or in any other folder I cannot see regularly) I only put finished files; i.e., files that I am no longer using, but am already moving to their final destination.

So, where do my currently ‘in use’ files live? Or the files that I’m still to read or to finish? Well, those live in 4 other folders located in the right side of my dock (see Fig. 3).

Here I have the ordinary Downloads alias folder and 3 personal ones: Out Zone, ToDo, Work Zone. They are all aliases of the real ones living next to the Documents Folder (i.e. ~/Out Zone, ~/ToDo, ~/Work Zone). What are they for? Well, let me try to explain:

— Work Zone: every file that I’m currently working on.

— ToDo: files I’m planning to work on, but haven’t had the time to do it yet. (Normally, stuff that I downloaded or received and know I’ll have to work on later.)

— Out Zone: general stuff that I have already finished and is waiting for final destination. I normally clean up this folder every month or so, sending its contents to the other folders on the desktop, if the subject is any of my classes, or other less used folders within the Hard Drive.

In a way this is my Getting Things Done (GTD) workflow.

Now, since these 4 + 6 folders are so visible I tend to be very picky on their icons. :) The others, far from my eyes, don’t matter that much to me, since I only see them now and then when I’m organizing files. But these 4 (dock) + 6 (desktop) must be pretty and easily distinguished. On the 3 GTD folders I prefer similar shapes and different colors. The Refresh Trek icon set by Dave Brasgalla is perfect for that.

For the 4 classes icons I’m using the set Book icons by Susumu Yoshida. The 2 Geekmac icons were remade by me using a basic iMac icon (don’t remember the designer). To change the regular icons into these pretty ones I use a great app called CandyBar by The Iconfactory and Panic (shareware).

Oh, and the terrific wallpaper is from fredsarran (ICAscot.com): walldesk3. (He regularly posts his work at MacThemes.)

Could you tell us about your interest in desktop art? What sparked your interest?

I always liked digital art even if I’m not good enough to try it on my own (maybe in another lifetime). I always loved a good placed out-of-the-ordinary wallpaper… However, my real interest only started after using Macs. It’s a shame to have such beautiful hardware and not play with digital art, either web design or icons or wallpapers or…

Is your desktop always neat and newly styled or does it vary? How do you like to customize your own desktop? Do you have any favourite desktop artists?

I tend to see my laptop (more than the desktop) as my office. I’m there all the time, either working, blogging, twittering or zapping through the web. I *need* to have a good looking environment; it’s important to my mental health, therefore I keep things pretty much neat although the style varies a lot.

I’d say I change my wallpaper every 1-2 weeks and my icon set every 2-3 months. And, yes, I customize a lot, even if avoiding deep changes (for instance, I never change the OS theme).

I currently have a big collection of wallpapers (300 MBs of it in a special folder) and many icons that I regularly use (stored in CandyBar). When I see something I like in the web, I collect it and sooner or later will end up using it.

As for desktop artist I have some favorites: Vladstudio for wallpapers (and some others from DeviantArtor MacThemes… or Marmalade Moon). Louie Mantia,Anthony Piraino, Jonas Rask, David Lanham, Susumu Yoshida, Dave Brasgalla for icons.

Tell us about some of your favourite applications and their icons?

There are a few I really like and therefore never modify, like the Mailplane icon.

Because it is so easy to identify what it is for: M from mail, a plane and a G from gmail. Simple, efective, balanced. It was made by Jonas Rask, a pro. :)

Unlike Mailplane,Scrivener’s icon was made by a non-professional designer: Amber Vaesca. She’s a pro on using Scrivener, though. :) You can see it’s less polished than the other ones, but it totally invokes the ambience of the app, which I think it’s the most amazing app for writing ever made. (My PhD was done in it. Scrivener made it less painful.)

The Espresso icon. I like the name and I like the warm feeling of it. It’s a very promising text editor for HTML and other languages. Even before it was ready to download (it’s a brand new app) I had already “stolen” its icon to prettify my desktop. :) (In my dreams I want the original file, so I can change the character as I wish.) I don’t know exactly who made the icon.

The Bean icon. The second best app for writing… It’s a freeware app similar to TextEdit but much better in features and with a nice look to it, inside and out. (TextEdit is boring, both the app and the icon.) The icon was made by Laurent Baumann and I want to eat that chocolate little bar next to the coffee.

DrawIt is my favorite application for making small works related with desktop or web design (like the calendar included in the Desktop), besides it has a very cool and simple icon. I love it because it avoids the regular mix-up of objects that most drawing application’s icons have. A colorful elegant ink drop that I can instantly spot in my dock. Plus, I love orange. This icon was also made by Laurent Baumann.

Finally, what are some of the things you enjoy in your everyday life?

Let me see… I love reading, including ebooks (both on my laptop or iPod Touch). Am currently obsessing over the end of Battlestar Galactica (damn, I’m going to miss that show). And I just bought a new bike: a Trek FX 7.6 to do Cycle Oregon 2009. In my spare time I’m working hard for that 400-mile ride in September.

Related Links:

• Maria’s Blog: Mac ao Quadrado
• Maria on Twitter: twitter/mjvalente

Maria’s Desktop:

• Wallpaper from fredsarran (ICAscot.com): walldesk3
• Icons: The Refresh Trek icon set by Dave Brasgalla and Book icons by Susumu
• Dock: Optimus (reflective) by Imageblender
• Calendar resource (in desktop) created with DrawIt by Bohemian Coding

My main job is at a university, I’m responsible for a small TV studio and video editing facility where the students do their projects in a degree in Media Studies. That’s half the time.

The other half I’m a video editor. I do a lot of work for the school but I also do documentaries and short films. I have also recently started teaching at the university. So now I’m a college professor too!

How you come up with the idea for Pixel Delicioso?

A friend of mine saw my desktop and was curious where I had gotten the cool icons and wallpaper I was using. I told him to check out MacThemes, DeviantArt and The Iconfactory. A couple days later I was talking to him on the phone and he said there was just too much to go through, he wouldn’t know where to start. So I offered to make a selection for him. When I was doing this I got the idea of making the selection available to other friends and decided a blog would be a simple enough way to do it.

Could you tell us about your interest in desktop art? What sparked your interest?

I have always loved icons and walls. Ever since the days of Windows 3. Last year I got a 24 iMac to replace my old and faithful eMac of almost 5 years and that’s when it really took off. I was searching for updated versions of my favourite walls and icons and I started to grow a respectable collection.

It got serious when I found myself eagerly awaiting the release of Vegrafik’s Black System Icons at MacThemes. It was a historic thread as some people would agree and it made me realize I was hooked beyond my control.

But I wasn’t into doing screenshots or anything like that. I just wanted to find the perfect icon for a certain application or folder. I even changed the icons of single files. And I liked to change my wallpaper on a regular basis. But I missed my Good Grey Tiger theme… I hated  that you couldn’t theme Leopard, not even partially, at the time. I hate default anything!

Is your desktop always neat and newly styled or does it vary? How do you like to customize your own desktop?

“I love neatness. I’m a total neat freak. In my desktop and in my real world desk. Everything has its place and everything must be aligned.”

I love neatness. I’m a total neat freak. In my desktop and in my real world desk. Everything has its place and everything must be aligned. My desktops have since evolved into more unified concepts but I don’t change them that often. I like to live with one for a while and if I really like it — as is the case with the current one which has lasted for nearly a month! – I find it hard to let go. But one day I just look at it and think: it’s time! I usually start with the wall and then go find the icons to go with it. But sometimes the icons are the ones that make me want to change.

My desktops are sometimes very feminine and sometimes quite neutral but always soft and flowy. I love minimal and hightechy stuff but I also love over the top busy designs and I’m in love with all things vintage. Right now I’m in a bit of a monochromatic phase. I’m finding that colour is a little distracting. Probably because I’ve had a lot of work to do…

Do you have any favourite desktop artists?

I admire a lot of artists, the usual suspects when it comes to icons: David Lanham, Vegrafik, Louie Mantia, Laurent Baumann, Rick Patrick, Pinky Von Pout, Jonas Rask. For walls: Plexform, Mickka, Venom339, Kano89, Manicho, imrik, mattahan, Alexander-GG, xnhan00, all from DeviantArt. To name just a few. I discover new artists everyday.

What are some of the challenges you’ve had with the site?

I have zero coding skills and less than zero design skills. The site design is from a template I found online and did some tweaks to. All through trial and error since I know next to nothing about html or any other coding language. So that was the challenge at first. Now it really is keeping up with the releases.

This project started out of a desire to share my sources with some friends and also have an online archive for myself, but it has been growing steadily and it has acquired a surprising number or followers. So now I feel I really have to be on top of things to keep the customers satisfied!

How do you go about selecting desktop art for Pixel Delicioso?

At first I just put up all my favourite stuff, everything I could remember and still find. Now it’s become more of a “look what I just found!” thing, meaning that I go through a few sites almost everyday and select new releases that I think deserve attention. But if I find something I really love that isn’t new I post it too. I had sort of a rule in the beginning that was “I’ll only post stuff that I would use myself” but then I let it go because I realized there was stuff that maybe I wouldn’t use but had quality or was a certain style that was interesting or original.

I have to like it, it has to somehow catch my eye. I tend to stay away from stuff that is too cute or girly or too cartoony. And there’s not a lot of photography because I normally don’t use photos on my desktop. And I don’t post walls that have text, I don’t like to impose or endorse statements.

Most of the art comes from DeviantArt, which I love but is so unfiltered, MacThemes and a few other sites like Customize.org or InterfaceLIFT and several personal designers’ sites. Whenever I have time during the day, sometimes in the morning, sometimes when I’m eating my lunch or late, late, late at night I do my searches and post away. It is quite time consuming but I do take days off. Never on a thursday though, the day more good stuff is released and also the busiest day in terms of traffic, curiously.

What are your future plans for the site?

Redesign, redesign, redesign. The template has done its job but I feel it’s time for a change, something a little more polished and sophisticated. Anyone interested?

What do you enjoy the most about running Pixel Delicioso?

Feedback. Just a few days ago I got an e-mail from a guy saying that Pixel Delicioso had re-ignited his interest in GUI. How great is that?

I also like the idea that I’m giving back a little to all the great artists and designers who let us have their amazing work for free. And the fact that I have an excuse for spending so much time online searching for the latest customizing goodies!…

You’ve started a successful blog around one of your hobbies without any prior knowledge about blogging. What is your advice to other people who are in a similar situation and would like to start a blog about one of their interests?

I had a few friends who had blogs on Blogger, so that was the first place I went to and it’s the one I use but there are others like WordPress or Webs. It’s super easy and it’s totally free. You just follow a couple of simple steps and you’re ready to go.

You must have a Google Account or you can easily create one on the spot. You should give some thought to the name of your blog, especially what you put in the URL (the web address) because you won’t be able to change it.

Then it’s time to choose the look of your blog. At Blogger they offer a variety of nice design layouts (templates) you can choose from and then you can select your own colours. There are also lots of sites that offer alternative templates if you want something a little different from the ones that Blogger proposes. I found a nice one at Elegant Blogger Templates.

My suggestion is to search, search, search. Use Google to find templates and information about the subject you want to blog about and also to learn a little bit about Html (the language that is used to code Blogger pages) and to understand a little about colour theory and its relation to web design. This is important to give your blog a more polished look and keep visitors interested. Because even if the content is great you probably wouldn’t want to go back to a site that is unappealing or has a colour scheme that hurts your eyes.

I also suggest you get something like Site Meter (also free) so you can keep track of the traffic to your blog. Then you can start posting away. What you post is up to you and there are no rules. Even if you’re just doing it for yourself it can be very rewarding. But if it gets noticed and people start to visit it regularly that’s when it gets interesting.

Perhaps you could tell us a little bit about your interest in photography and interior design?

My home is very colorful and contrasting. I don’t like plain white walls but white is always the base for the colour scheme. The ceilings, trimmings and a good part of the walls are white. Then I just add colour. Lots of it!

The desktop customizing is closely related to the interest and pleasure I get from interior design. I couldn’t live in a default looking home any more than I could live in a default looking operating system.

My home is very colorful and contrasting. I don’t like plain white walls but white is always the base for the colour scheme. The ceilings, trimmings and a good part of the walls are white. Then I just add colour. Lots of it! And I like mixing lots of styles. I get stuff from IKEA and when I get home I assemble it, and customize it.

I do it to my appliances too and to vintage second-hand furniture bargains I find along the way. I use whatever I have laying around but mostly a pair of scissors and some sticky-back-plastic. I know it sounds a little corny but it’s a really fun product. There are so many styles and designs and textures. It’s a whole world!  I just love my snakeskin speakers and my pin-up decorated desk! And yes, I cut out all those stripes and circles myself…

I’d like to do interior design a little more seriously and break it out of my home, but I don’t think my style appeals to everyone and I don’t know if I could get away from it too much… I’d like to try though.

For fun, me and a friend go to friends’ houses and give them advice (if they ask for it of course) on how they can improve their decoration, make a better use of their space, use colour and stuff like that. Sometimes a little paint can really make a big difference.

I don’t take photography seriously at all. The stuff I first submitted to senhoritaspencer on deviantART, was just for fun, a series called Urban Oddities (Insólitos Urbanos) that’s basically curious and weird things and scenes I find on the street or wherever I go, from a perfectly intact orange peel on the side walk to a leopard paint job on a Mercedes. And food. I like to take pictures of dishes I make or order at restaurants, food displays at markets, very informal and unplanned stuff. Because I do love good food.

Finally, what are some of the things you enjoy in your everyday life?

The other day I had an unexpected day off from work so I went to the beach and had a little sushi picnic. It was wonderful. There’s something about the beach during winter and combining it with one of my favourite foods ever was simply perfect.

And I like doing nothing. But plan it and really enjoy it. Then I might get bored and start redecorating something! That’s when the creative juices flow the most for me, when I don’t really have anything to do.

Related Links:

• Senhorita Spencer’s blog about desktop art: Pixel Delicioso.
• Senhorita Spencer’s DeviantArt page: senhoritaspencer on deviantART.
• Senhorita Spencer’s Flickr page.