iPhoneography: The Moon

Emerging from the deep waters of illumination and creativity to trip head over heels into a heap of laundry, a pile of receipts that need to be filed and a dozen and one other day-to-day tasks that I need to catch up with.

It’s the ebb and flow of creativity. It’s creating from the heart. It’s passion. It’s believing in what you do. Because there’s nothing routine about passion. There are no limits to illumination. There is nothing calculated about intuition. There’s nothing moderate about zeal, and desire is not halfhearted.

If you want passion in your life, you have to let the idea of balance take on a different, more long term role. It’s not the same sort of balance as the kind you can get in times when your days can be measured and divided up into sensible amounts of time spent in a variety reasonable areas. In times of passion, it’s ebb and flow. It’s a leap of faith. A deep sense of purpose.

Life Compass

Isn’t it interesting to see how the creative process solves problems that crop up? Sometimes solutions come to me at an initial stage, while I’m brainstorming or mind mapping, which isn’t surprising since the whole idea with these techniques is to open up, be spontaneous, and gather ideas in a non-linear form. Sometimes I find solutions during the process, while I’m fully emerged in flow, working on a design, a piece of art or writing. But just as often I find ideas, or answers, when I step away from the canvas. Sometimes I can barely cross the floor to refill my mug of tea for ideas! I’ll burst out “oh, now I know”, and rush back to what I was working on. It seems to me that there’s no right, there’s no wrong, but the process itself is needed. And at the same time, it’s important to not get lost or too particular about the process or one would never leave the drawing board and one would have trouble accessing spontaneity and intuition.

Anyway, it was when I was trying to get another cup of coffee, that this idea came to me, “A Life Compass, that’s what it is”. I was talking (to myself) about my new Goal Kits. I needed a unified logo or symbol for them, an illustration and at this moment it arrived at me, a compass rose. Because the Goal Kits are a compass to guide you, to help you dream, plan, act, harvest, recharge and make your own chart. To find life balance and momentum and navigate through the seas of the seasons.

Have your ever lost yourself in what you were doing, so much so that you lost track of time? Felt challenged in a good way, and so fully engaged that time flew by? Then you’ve been in a state of Flow.

Flow is a mental state of consciousness. An effortless, automatic, ecstatic mental state when you step into an alternative reality.

You’re highly focused and concentrated on an activity when you have flow. Fully engaged and in control.

You’re so entirely absorbed in the task at hand that your sense of time is distorted, you feel part of something larger. It’s almost as if you don’t exist or as though you are one with what you are doing.

When a person is in flow, the activity, such as art, play or work, is a reward in itself. It’s worth doing for its own sake. It is its own reward. Experiencing flow makes you feel happy. Elated. Euphoric. Delighted.

“When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.” –Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The term flow was coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity. Csikszentmihalyi teaches psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University, and focuses on human strengths such as optimism, motivation and responsibility. In this video Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi speaks about flow at this talk held at TED.

Which activities bring us flow? The other day my friend said “isnt’ it GREAT when you get into house cleaning flow!?” And then we laughed. But it’s true, so many different activities can give flow! What are your favorite areas for flow?

Cute Cat Icons Volume 2

The second volume of Cute Cat icons (and the first set of Cut Cat icons is here if you missed it) have just been released over at the Iconfactory. The collection includes six cat breeds: the Bombay Tuxedo, British Shorthair, Birman, Scottish Fold, Turkish Angora and the Havana Brown.

I can’t decide what to do for my next set for the Iconfactory. A set with cute dogs? Or something completely different? A set of icons inspired by the time and style of Mad Men?

Winter Swans wallpaper

Happy to present Winter Swans desktop wallpaper, two swans that bring a swirl of snow to your desktop!

It’s snowing. Big snow flakes that slowly drift down. Whirling gently, like on film. You’re walking down the street… Wait, is that really snow? What if you suddenly notice that actually, the snow is white feathers? And then you see that they come from swans flying above you, in the sky? Is that a dream?

This piece has gone through a creative process with numerous changes. In the beginning I drew the swans. They felt right. Next I created orange blossoms and filled the swans with the blossoms, almost like a pattern. And petals seeped out from the wings, forming a shower of petals. But something was wrong with it, I wasn’t happy with the design, it was too fussy. So I started over, this time I drew feathers and scattered them onto the birds, letting the feathers drift out to form snow crystals. Again, too fiddly. Too crowded. Cluttered. Scratch that idea. Snowflakes? I tried that, and now I knew I’d got it.

Do you discover an image or does it discover you? Do you dream a dream, or does it dream you? Does inspiration come to you or do you go out and look for it? Can something you create ever be finished, or do you simply have to decide when to stop?

< — Save this wallpaper to your computer.

This pack of wallpaper includes versions for fullscreen and widescreen computers as well as the iPhone, iPhone 4 and iPad.

iPhone Photography: Cherries

I didn’t make it to the Farmer’s Market this weekend. I was too busy working on commissions. But I saw wood pigeons in the oak tree outside my windows. I heard the sound of acorns as they hit the ground. I saw the Big Dipper from my kitchen window. I thought of absent friends. Separated by time or place or death. I felt the scent of red sage and enveloped myself in the soft touch of my corduroy jacket. I cried when I listened to Jeff Buckley (it never fails).

I saw a rainbow and made a wish. I ought to have done some laundry and the freezer desperately needs defrosting, but I did none of that. In fact, I struggled to remember meals. Sleep. Instead I thought about the ancient Egyptians and their royal tombs and made sketches for my commissions. The scent of Calamintha brought me to Tuscany. Greek Basil brought me back to Crete. Then I bought two handfuls of cherries and put them in the brown bowl we bought in Barcelona. Travelling in my mind.

Icon sketches: inspiration, mockups, drafts, ideas, palettes, mood boards

I’m having so much fun designing this icon for drafts and sketches! Perhaps because I love this part of the process myself. Gathering inspiration, finding reference, doing research, catching ideas that spark in mind maps and mood boards.

The texture I used for the Moleskine (image below) is the same as the one I originally designed for the leather wallet, briefcase, satchel, old book and folder icons in the Organizer Collection. I felt that it worked well for the Moleskine and that it helped make the icons fit smoothly together, connecting the Moleskine with other icons.

While I was working on the icon for “Sketches, Drafts”, I came up with several variations. First I felt I had to pick one, but then I realised that a lot of people probably have different kinds of inspirational material that they collect. There could be drafts of text or images or a combination. There could be textures and palettes. Or combinations. So, why not include all three!? I’m calling them Sketches/Drafts, Ideas and Inspiration but naturally you can modify their names so that they work for you. How could you make use for these icons?

Sketches, drafts, inspiration, ideas

[To be continued... ]

Did you miss the other parts of this series?

• Part One: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Sketches
• Part Two: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: A Vintage Touch
• Part Three: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Indicating Time
• Part Four: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Look and Feel
• Part Five: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: The Dreaded Report

Icon sketches for "dreaded report"

I’m really struggling with this icon for “Dreaded Report”. Maybe some of the boring, corporate cubicle office culture that I’m trying to infuse this icon with, is rubbing off on me?

So I made some variations, one with a ballpoint pen, one with a graph and one with a skull. And then I can’t make up my mind… Should I put them all in the collection, or leave some out? What do you think? [To be continued... ]

Did you miss the other parts of this series?

• Part One: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Sketches
• Part Two: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: A Vintage Touch
• Part Three: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Indicating Time
• Part Four: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Look and Feel

Icon design process. From sketch to basic shapes

When I’m happy with the sketches for the icons, I launch Adobe Illustrator and start blocking out the icons, drawing simple, clean vector shapes using my pen tablet. I’m designing the Collection of Process Icons in the same style that was established for the first three collections of desktop icons. In this unique design project, everything from the icon concept to the simple and elegant style is based on feedback from you. The look and feel for Process Icons uses the same set of perspectives with simple, uncluttered shapes that are easy to distinguish and find on your desktop. The style is based around a rich colour palette and elegant, natural textures.

Icon design process. Adding details, colour, shading and light

Once I’ve blocked in the basic shapes, I start adding details and colours, next shading and last highlights. In this example with the alarm clock you’ll notice the same palette of reds as in the icon with the Cookery Book, the same greys as in the Gear icon and the same soft cream as in the Shoebox icon. Using the same style consistently, ensures that all the icons fit together and that you can mix and match the different collections to suit your needs.

And in case you were wondering about the dotted lines across these images, yes they are the watermarks I designed for these icon previews to at least make it more difficult for people who want to steal images. [To be continued... ]

Did you miss the other parts of this series?

• Part One: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Sketches
• Part Two: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: A Vintage Touch
• Part Three: Designing the Collection of Process Icons: Indicating Time