Graphic Explorations

I've always been interested in pattern making. From my early childhood, I'd spent a lot of my time looking at Mughal carpets, and how the patterns interlock. I've since enjoyed making patterns based on geometric principles:

 I like to think of these crystalline structures as having more than one application. Perhaps a more elegant QR code, or a visualization of data; all sorts of applications.

Recently I started playing around with typeface in a similar manner. I was inspired my an 'S' I saw in a documentary; it was from an old Newspaper clipping. I enjoyed the serif balance, and I started to play with the shape. 

This was the original clipping. 

After recreating the shape in Illustrator, I started to play with it's symmetry.

Making it equally balanced; I thought 'why not make it something other than an 'S'? I liked the idea of making it a variation of infinity; I often get sidetracked by these sorts of thoughts.

 I started cutting away the shape, to get new forms

 And adding them again to the original

 What I was trying to do was play/experiment within the natural rhythms of the shapes, and see what I could come up with.

 Potential new forms arise

 As well as classic revisions. This is the official "Section" Symbol

 What started off as a simple interaction of shapes starts to take on multiple new meanings as you start to play with the flows and rhythms of positive and negative space.

 I also started to use the font cuts in more familiar ways, as geometric based patterns. This pattern could be an icon, or even a physical item. I could see it being cut out of metal and used as a decorative bowl. 

 What I enjoy about this process is that it leads me to conjure up all sorts of new directions of thought. Thinking Laterally helps open up my mind to all sorts of creative potentials. 

By this point I was appreciating the font in a whole new way; thinking of how its rhythms had geometric principles behind them.

This grid was breakthrough for me. By applying a geometric shape to the arrangement, I was able to recombine it using geometric principles. 

 On top, this set was placed sequentially, but I was not satisfied with the orientation of the blocks. By looking at the triangles governing the orientation, I was able to see a different way of organizing them, and made a hexagonal arrangement.

 This as can lead to all sorts of denser patterns. I ended up making a 'wallpaper' of pattern before heading in a different direction.

I started to formulate more geometric principles; that this triangular shape could be used in sequence. 

I went back and started recycling the shapes again, using the concept of geometric grids

 After this pattern, I started to see the positive/negative space in a new way. This looks like a graphical interpretation of an orchid to me. Then I saw something else, a mustache. 

 From this 'Mustache' I started to play again, making two variations before finally creating a new shape, the red lips. I made the lips based on what 'felt' like it would fit in the visual language; but it got me thinking. Why can't my software see the rhythms of the shapes, and start to create a grid around it? You could use all sorts of mathematical principles (in a visual, non-threatening way) to help generate all sorts of variations.

This notion of geometric rhythms lead me to one last destination; Fractals. Back to a Mandelbrot- inspired set, I recombined the shapes in a way that felt like I was following the curvature of the shapes; but I would be curious to see if I could make this happen in actual coding. 

I hope you can see now how this sort of visual playtime conjures up all sorts of new thoughts for me. It's a meditation for me, as well as a tool for generating new content. I'm interested to hear your thoughts and comments. Thanks!