I have always been interested in aerial photography and wanted to translate the colours and forms into an abstract art work. My first attempt at abstract painting. The whole experience forced me to question my style and ponder my change in attitude towards how I judge art and design.

Until recently, I never really appreciated abstract art (which as a graphic designer is a terrible thing to admit). I use to be one of those stunted individuals who would look on an abstract piece with a critical ‘that’s rubbish because a 4 year old could have done it’ mentality. It was an immature and somewhat snobbish way of looking at the industry because the truth is, a 4 year old could do it, but by no means should this diminish its merit.

No matter how good you are technically, abstract art can be created by anyone, a seasoned professional and/or a young child intent on decorating a roll of butchers paper. I like that abstract art is incredibly subjective and open to interpretation. Some people might love it as others may loathe it. Particularly in regards to interior design, a piece that you may not love on its own can be placed in context with other items that in some cases become the favoured item of the cohesive unit.

A very talented Creative Director I used to work for showed me something his kids had doodled very roughly on his iPad. As a whole image it was okay, you could see the inherited flair, but it wasn’t outlandishly special. However, as soon as he zoomed into the top quarter section of the sketch, I could see a pattern emerge and suddenly its relative banality disappeared to make way for a truly interesting and unique image based on a slight adjustment of scale and framing. It reminds me of the old aesthetic adage ‘Beauty is the point at which adding or subtracting visual elements is no longer an improvement’– not a direct quote, but I do remember my Dad saying something like that.

Most artists are familiar with the concept of the ‘happy accident’ where by experimentation and sometimes spilling of the inks can lead to revered work. An artist can take his or her messy drop sheet, crop a section and suddenly you have intriguing wall worthy imagery. The reality of this can be a hard pill to swallow for those who have been trained at the finest of art institutes spending hour upon hour, year upon year, honing their technical skills. The idea of ‘accidental genius’ used to irritate me which I now realise is stupid because it’s all part of a creative process. What irritates me now is hearing people say ‘I’m not creative’ or ‘I don’t have any talent’. I don’t buy it. If you just have a go, sit down and attempt, you may be surprised at what is achieved. Technical skill can be developed but creative expression is inherit in all of us.

At the end of the day, art and design is a combination of basic elements (Line, Shape, Colour, Texture, Scale, Direction) and principals (Balance, Proximity, Alignment, Repetition, Contrast, Space) to communicate a message or evoke an emotional response. All this tends to go on in the subconscious when immersed deep in the pursuit of technical perfection. Bringing the elements and principals back  into consciousness can help to focus the essential message, emphasising its power. Im no expert, but I do believe that an appreciation and practice of abstract art will bring you back to the basics, a place I believe every good designer should return to from time to time.

It’s no secret that I love my iPad. But most people don’t use it to its full capacity. I have been keeping a scrapbook/journal on mine for the past two years. When you spend every day making sure things align perfectly to spec, it can be refreshing to throw the damn grid out the window and pretend we are back in school replete with scissors/glue/different coloured pens and highlighters. The thing is, when I feel inspired, I am unlikely to have stacks of magazines/cutting tools/paste with me ready to go. Carrying all that gear around is likely to give you a bad back plus, the idea of cutting up my design mags feels like sacrilege… and don’t even start on the post-creative sesh clean up. I therefore prefer using my iPad going old-skool the digital way with a funky little app called notebook (and it’s free).

I have a basic stylus to annotate web clippings. If I want editable text, I just use the text box tool. I feel like I can make a real mess without actually making any mess at all and I can do it all whilst sipping a latte at the local coffee shop. Using a stylus with an iPad can be a little challenging at first, but the more you use it the more natural it begins to feel. Notebook is a great little app for freeform journaling too. I will often write a one page letter, export as a jpg and email it to a friend. It always feels just a little bit more heartfelt than your usual stock standard email.