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Inspiration from new tools


I’ve been having a good deal of fun editing on my iPhone lately and its even spilled over into some of my design work. I recently discovered a great little app called Grid Lens (well worth checking out), and created a custom grid for myself of skinny columns (Some inspiration from this painting) and took a sequence of photos of a white wall… It turned out like this (see image above).

I figured I was onto something and brought it into Image Blender (another invaluable app) and started layering it. First horizontally and then diagonally. I ended up with this:

This got me pretty excited, especially because it started with a photo of a white wall… I then layered it over another photo that I mirrored for more symmetry and ended up with this:

I find accidental creativity to be some of the most exciting, especially when it comes together quickly, when you almost cant keep up with it.

A few more examples of the same technique:

I am working on a logo right now and I figured this is great application to try out this same technique. I did it all in illustrator but the inspiration came from a $2 app.

Tools that fit in my pocket fit much better into my life.

All images by Seth Hardie
Find me on Instagram here: @hallwood

27 Comments Leave A Comment

1

Per says:

February 2, 2012 at 10:01 am

Thanks for the insight to your process Seth. I have been admiring your work since you started blogging here. And I agree that accidental creativity is really intriguing.

2

David Roberts says:

February 2, 2012 at 10:03 am

Nice! Love these types of experiments, especially with cheap or free tools. I made my kaleidoscope series from a free kaleidoscope tool, free images and a lot of free time experimentation before figuring out how to do it best.

http://www.davidjroberts.net/35305/344467/prints/kaleidoscopia-prints

Good taste level and restraint on your work. Goes to show that it’s less about the tool and more about your vision, talent and initiative. Cheap or free tools do help though!

Thanks for the tip.

10

Ben says:

February 2, 2012 at 12:48 pm

Nice I was wondering about the grid-ing! I am very into these sort of patterns and will be getting these apps post-haste! Thanks for sharing!

11

Jonny says:

February 2, 2012 at 6:41 pm

Thanks for posting about your creative process! I enjoyed this post and I hope you continue writing about tools/inspiration. I’m doing a creative thing-a-day project and have been experimenting with symmetry…impressed with what you got out of a white wall. I’ll have to try it soon.

12

Adam says:

February 2, 2012 at 7:09 pm

Whoa. Totally needed to see a post like this as I am currently stuck on a poster design.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget to just have fun and experiment with designing; it usually yields the best results.

Thanks for the post!

14

Spies On Bikes says:

February 3, 2012 at 3:15 pm

Whoa super dope! The second image is “Andy Gilmore Esque.” A little reminiscent. Crazy the tools these days. And the speed in which people create. Sheesh…

16

Tim says:

February 6, 2012 at 7:14 am

Dig it! This is the same reason I love playing music; creation happening quicker than your brain can think about it, a complete channel of focus.

18

Shecky says:

February 6, 2012 at 3:59 pm

bummed lens grid is not 3G…went and impulsed that and then realized, doh..

would like to hear what the apps are in the last post in addition to this…would be a huge time saver. i find the app store is so huge with so many options you can literally download dozens of apps and in the end nearly all of them blow.
thx

23

Tyshnqulia says:

February 25, 2012 at 7:25 am

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27

Anonymous says:

June 6, 2012 at 7:43 am

thank you for sharing your process! it’s brilliant. i’m a masters in design student in sydney and find your blog lovely and helpful.