If you’re feeling overwhelmed by desktop clutter and you’re looking for a quick and easy method to tidy up your desktop and keep your digital environment tidy and organized, here’s a technique to get organized once and for all.

Maria João Valente has been using Workflow Desktop Icons to structure her digital workflow with a minimum of effort, for more than a year.

“Basically it allows me to keep files organized and an uncluttered desktop (both essential to my sanity).”

Workflow Desktop Icons

Everything revolves around three main folders, “Doing”, “To-do” and “Archive”. These can be accessed directly via the Dock on a Mac, and are regularly checked or re-organized according to the workflow. All other folders are out of sight and serve as permanent storage for further use.

Here’s a flow chart of Maria’s digital workflow.

• The Work Zone contains all the files or folders that are being used now (i.e. this week).
• The To-Do Zone has stuff to be reviewed as soon as I have the time. (Hint: most of the downloaded files get here, to be organized later. Another Hint: I use Hazel to keep this place organized by file type.)
• The Out Zone folder is where I place all files or folders that are going to be exported and stored off my computer, either on an external HD, a DVD or online.

Maintaining a peaceful and productive desktop is easy when you follow your workflow.

By sharing her process, Maria hopes to help you get you going organizing your digital stuff. (Or share with us the process you’re already using.)

Maria João Valente is an archaeologist, university professor and a passionate Mac user. She lives in Portugal and blogs about her interests at Mac ao Quadrado. You can read my interview with Maria here or follow her on Twitter.

Tags: customer story, desktop customization, digital environment, getting organized, how-to, inspiration, interface, organized, overwhelm, productivity, simplicity, tutorials, workflow

Here are 20 exceptional iPad apps for expressing yourself creatively with your iPad. Creative tools that turn your iPad into a portable, digital studio that supports you through all the cycles of the creative process. From gathering and brainstorming ideas through collecting and organizing inspiration and journaling to expressing yourself through writing, drawing, painting, photography, design, music, acting and crafting. And some play and relaxation to refill your creative well.

1. MindNode ($5.99) Beautiful and minimalist mind mapping app. A simple and effective way to brainstorm and easily map out and organize your ideas. Also available for the Mac.

[App store link: MindNode for iPad and iPhone].

2. Evernote (free) Remember everything. Build and organize your own digital scrapbook with notes, photos, links, web clips, audio and auto-synchronize to your Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad and Web. Magically makes text within snapshots searchable and includes geo-location information in notes. For research, to capture design, art, writing and blogging inspiration.

[App store link: Evernote for iPad and iPhone].

3. Moodboard Pro ($4.99) and Moodboard Lite (free) Make a moodboard to visualise your ideas and jump-start your creativity. Capture a mood, feel or ambience with a collage of materials (photos, textures, sketches, text and color palettes). Easily share early design concepts with clients and colleagues to communicate your idea or use as a guide and inspiration for your own creative projects.

[App store links: Moodboard Pro and Moodboard Lite].

4. MaxJournal for iPad ($2.99). A simple and elegant diary or journal. Customize the font and size, add up to three photos per entry and password protect your journal. Features tagging, time stamping and autosave.

[App store link: MaxJournal for iPad].

5. My Writing Nook ($4.99) and $2.99 for the iPhone. Simple and powerful tool for writers. Minimalist and distraction free writing environment with easy-to-use dictionary and thesaurus. Word count and auto save. Work on your manuscript anywhere, on your iPhone, iPad or computer, synchronize and have access to the latest version for reading, writing and editing everywhere.

[App store links: My Writing Nook for iPad. Also available for the iPhone].

6. Qvik Sketch Pro ($0.99) Quick, easy, effortless sketching, doodling and drawing tool. Qvik Sketch shades or inks your sketches in real-time, creating beautifully rendered drawings. Fast and fun.

[App store links: Qvik Sketch Pro for iPad. Also available for the iPhone].

7. Adobe Ideas 1.0 (free) A simple, vector-based digital sketchbook. Capture and explore ideas on the go. Use the color scheming tool to create harmonized color palettes extracted from your photos or artwork. Email your sketches as PDF files for further editing in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. A handy tool for designers and artists.

[App store links: Adobe Ideas for iPad and Adobe Ideas for the iPhone].

8. Brushes ($7.99) A portable art studio and powerful finger painting tool for creating original artwork featuring an advanced color picker, swatches, high quality brushes, layers, extreme zooming, and a simple yet deep interface. Paintings made with Brushes have been published on the cover of The New Yorker on several occasions. With Brushes Viewer for Mac (free) you can replay your Brushes paintings stroke by stroke, render them at high resolutions for printing, and export them as QuickTime movies.

[App store links: Brushes – iPad Edition and Brushes for iPhone ($4.99)].

9. SketchBook Pro ($7.99) A versatile, elegant digital SketchBook for painting and drawing that features 75 art brushes, a smear brush, geometric shapes and a symmetrical drawing tool. Interact with SketchBook through a gesture-based multi-touch user interface.

[App store link: SketchBook Pro].

10. iMockups ($9.99) This gem of a tool will save designers countless hours by helping you to quickly create mock-ups, layouts and wireframes for your web design, iPhone and iPad app projects. iMockups includes customizable navbars, tab panels, and autofilling Lorem Ipsum text. Intuitive and beautiful interface that takes full advantage of the breakthrough touchscreen device with iPad-optimized gesture controls.

[App store link: iMockups].

11. StudioTrack ($39.99) StudioTrack is a powerful audio recording and songwriting tool for musicians and producers who want to capture musical ideas and record songs on the go. Multitrack recording with up to 8 tracks, and bounce them down to add even more. Easily apply effects such as delay, reverb, EQ, and a compressor.

[App store link: StudioTrack].

12. Korg iElectribe ($9.99) A perfectly faithful replica of the famous Korg Electribe•R analog drum machine that’s easy and intuitive to use. Features 64 preset patterns, 8 supercharged effects and advanced Motion Sequencing that make patterns come alive.

[App store link: Korg iElectribe].

13. Rehearsal (free) This professional tool for actors helps you learn your lines. Developed and tested by Hollywood actors. Highlight lines, play peekaboo to memorize your script. Record your script and play it back. Add notes and record different takes to explore your character. Download for free, get unlimited scripts for a week and then pay by the script.

[App store links: Rehearsal for iPad and Rehearsal for iPhone].

14. CameraBag ($2.99) Recreate the magic of film by emulating photography’s most beloved and iconic vintage cameras, film, and processing techniques. Easy to use with an intuitive, simple interface. The perfect companion for your iPhone photography.

[App store links: CameraBag for iPad and CameraBag for iPhone ($1.99)].

15. TiltShift Generator ($2.99) Make your photos look like they are shots with miniatures, toy camera images and fake DSLR by adding a radial blur to your photos to change the perception of depth. Move the sweet spot with your fingers and increase or decrease its size.

[App store links: TiltShift Generator – Fake DSLR for iPad and TiltShift Generator – Fake DSLR for iPhone ($0.99)].

16. Fabric Stash ($4.99) Manage, catalogue, match, track quantities and organize your fabrics with Fabric Stash. Perfect for quilters, sewers, interior decorators, fashion designers and fabric designers.

[App store links: Fabric Stash for iPad. Also available for the iPhone].

17. HandiCraft ($4.99) Quilting, knitting, crochet and embroidery on your iPad with more than 150 patterns with full instructions and HD video lessons. Features patterns and step-by-step instructions displayed in a beautiful interface.

[App store link: HandiCraft].

18. iZen Garden 2 – portable zen garden ($5.99) Tranquil, Japanese rock garden, where you can find peace and create beauty. Arrange and resize objects like stones, seashells, fossils and butterflies, rake the sand into patterns and listen to soothing, ambient soundtracks.

[App store links: iZen Garden for iPad and iZen Garden for iPhone ($3.99)].

19. Soundrop (free) Wonderfully fun and simple sound game. Tap the screen to draw lines and watch as a ball bounces off them and Soundrop creates music out of the pattern you create.

[App store links: Soundrop for iPad and Soundrop for iPhone].

20. Zen Bound 2 ($7.99) Beautiful puzzle game with gorgeous graphics and sounds. Tilt and touch to wrap and twist the shapes to solve puzzles.

[App store links: Zen Bound 2 for iPad and Zen Bound 2 for iPhone ($2.99)].

More writings about the iPad: First impressions of the iPad.

Do you have a great tips for creating a digital studio? Have you tried any iPad or iPhone apps that you found inspiring and that boosted your creativity?

Tags: apps, art, creative, creative cycle, creative process, creativity, design, digital environment, iPad, iPhone, iPhoneography, review, software

I expected the iPad to be a revolutionary device and holding it in your hands, interacting with it, really is a revolutionary experience. It’s the computer of the future.

• It’s fast!
• It’s powerful!
• It’s intuitive, responsive, easy and inviting to use
• The iPad with its multi-touch screen and single tasking is the first computer that adapts to how humans work, while other computers expect us humans to adapt to how they work
• The iPad apps I’ve tested embrace the idea of simplicity, beauty, fun and ease. Just like the iPad itself
• The iPad is the first computer I’ve used where reading really feels inviting and user friendly
• This tablet computer is wonderful for a new kind of story telling! The iPad can blur the line between reading, watching films, gaming and I can see how people could invent new ways of telling stories where images, film, audio, text and interactive experiences all blend together into a new kind of multimedia story telling
• The digital environment on an iPad feels peaceful and focused
• The touch screen is crisp and sharp and the book-size feels user friendly
• The iPad lives up to its promise of long battery life
• You need a bag and/or a slip to protect your iPad
• You need a soft, lint-free cloth to remove marks left by your fingers

The iPad and iPhone are innovative devices that bring to mind Think Different, Apple’s advertising campaign from 1997

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Now, what I’m really interested in, is how I can use this revolutionary tablet computer as a digital, portable, creative art studio! I’ll be back on Tuesday with my findings and hope to present a list of 20 outstanding creativity apps for the iPad.

Tags: apps, digital environment, ease, interface, iPad, simplicity, technology

Vintage Folder Icons Seaside is inspired by vintage textures, retro textiles and old films and bring a touch of nostalgia and the glamour of Technicolor film to your digital environment. Vintage Folder Icons go nicely together with the popular series, Luminous Folder Icons and help you get things done by color coding your projects.

This collection of folder icons is inspired by the seaside. In red, white and sand, Seaside folder icons bring the ocean, marine fashion and a minimalist vintage touch to your desktop.

Inspired by the seaside and the rich, saturated palette of Technicolor film, these folder icons help you create a personal desktop environment with a hint of nostalgia. Five folder icons in colours borrowed from the seaside, red, blue and sand or On the Beach, Ocean Liner, Powder Blue Cadillac, Warm Retro Red and Red Velvet Cinema.

Save Vintage Seaside Folder Icons to your computer.

Tags: color code, digital environment, ease, folder, grain, productivity, retro, Seaside, simplicity, vintage, Vintage Folder Icons

Magnolia

I’m reinventing my digital life. Again. It always seems to creep up on me, the increasing time I spend in my digital environment. The number of web sites on my RSS-feed and the jumble of e-mail in my inbox. Time with social media.

Today I saw a hedgehog outside the studio and took this photo of magnolia with my iPhone. And as I write this blog post, the evening breeze touches me with the scents of spring. This elusive time of year when each day the leaves on the trees open more. Shades of green, from lime to deep green. Blossoms…

It’s time to do some pruning and tiding up. Both in my balcony garden and in my digital life. The stream of information has become a flood. I need to take a step back to find some peace and quiet and to enjoy the summer. It’s time to spend more time out of doors than in my digital life.

This summer you’ll see less of me on Twitter and Facebook. I won’t be spending so much time visiting and commenting on blogs.

However, I’ll still be blogging regularly and Marmalade Moon will be updated each Tuesday, with an additional post later in the week if I have any extra news. I’ll soon be sending out the Spring Edition of Club Marmalade Moon and I’m putting the finishing touches to some desktop art soon to be released. So there’ll be lots going on. But I’ll also be making space for having some magnolia moments.

What are your plans for your digital life this summer? Will you be taking a vacation from your desktop environment or will it be a time when you perhaps enjoy spending a little more time on your computer projects?

Tags: creativity, digital environment, evolving, fresh start, growth, overwhelm, reevaluating, reinventing digital life, social media, spring