Category: design principles

These are posts that emphasize John LeMasney’s understanding and appreciation of the tenets and principles of design.

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brand consulting curriculum vitae design principles Illustration photography portfolio

Bubbles texture cc-by lemasney

Bubbles texture cc-by lemasney
Bubbles texture cc-by lemasney
Bubbles texture cc-by lemasney
Bubbles texture cc-by lemasney

When I first read in the planned feature notes for the new version of Inkscape that it had a spraypaint tool, I was intrigued, but confused. Why wouldn’t you just use the clone tool, or the duplication features, I wondered. It’s not until you try it that you realize the amazing powers of chaos that it has. The tool has really changed the way that I look at randomness in my work, because at any time, I can introduce it without the math of the tiled clones tool or the forced manual randomness of holding down space spontaneously as you drag an object about the canvas.

Here’s a simple example. With a single no fill thin stroked circle I made with the ellipse tool, I used the spraypaint tool set to make a single path with duplicates, which creates this beautiful cellular strcture that reminds me of bubbles. The release version is coming for 0.48 — when it comes out, try out this fantastic feature.

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affiliations brand consulting curriculum vitae design principles honors Illustration Inkscape insights instructional technology open source photography portfolio professional activities professional experience requests research interests technology

Mozilla is openness, innovation & community

Mozilla is openness, innovation and community cc-by lemasney
Mozilla is openness, innovation and community cc-by lemasney
Mozilla is openness, innovation and community cc-by lemasney
Mozilla is openness, innovation and community cc-by lemasney

My Mozilla Contest Entry

So this is my entry for Mozilla’s 2010 t-shirt contest. Mozilla is Firefox‘s parent company. You can see the entry in context at , and vote for it, if you like. They asked for a design that promoted key elements of Mozilla’s vision, which is openness, innovation, and community, all things you may know I hold very dear myself.

How I made this image about Mozilla in Inkscape

In Inkscape, I took these four words and put them in via the text tool, then converted them all to paths. Then, I used the Bezier tool and the pencil tool to connect the letterforms and create tendrils which I saw as life forms seeking out connection. I saw the design as airy, connected, and creative, things I love and respect about Mozilla. If you like this design, I’d love it if you could vote it up at

About Mozilla

“Mammon slept. And the beast reborn spread over the earth and its numbers grew legion. And they proclaimed the times and sacrificed crops unto the fire, with the cunning of foxes. And they built a new world in their own image as promised by the sacred words, and spoke of the beast with their children. Mammon awoke, and lo! it was naught but a follower.”

– The Book of Mozilla, https://goo.gl/dt6mJT
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brand consulting curriculum vitae design principles Illustration insights photography portfolio professional activities

A group of pink balloons released into a dark sky cc-by lemasney

A group of pink balloons released into a dark sky cc-by lemasney
A group of pink balloons released into a dark sky cc-by lemasney

A group of pink balloons released into a dark sky cc-by lemasney
A group of pink balloons released into a dark sky cc-by lemasney

The origins of A group of pink balloons released into a dark sky cc-by lemasney

I saw a photo on ffffound.com of a group of balloons afloat and decided that I could do the same thing in Inkscape.

In inkscape, I made a single balloon with the ellipse and Bezier tools, then I duplicated them using the new 0.48 spraypaint tool. I tweaked the group a bit by rotating the strings toward the center, and added a background. It was an enjoyable, quick illustration, and I’m loving the new tools in Inkscape.

What is a balloon?

“A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern day balloons are made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, and can come in many colors. Some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig bladder. Some balloons are used for decorative purposes, while others are used for practical purposes such as meteorology, medical treatment, military defense, or transportation. A balloon’s properties, including its low density and low cost, have led to a wide range of applications.  The rubber balloon was invented by Michael Faraday in 1824, during experiments with various gases.[1]” – Balloon – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, https://goo.gl/qmrMFb

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design principles Illustration Inkscape portfolio

A highly reflective sphere

Highly reflective sphere
Highly reflective sphere
Highly reflective sphere - LeMasney Consulting
Highly reflective sphere

Here’s a simple sphere that moves a bit away from my regular reflective treatment.

In Inkscape, I made a black sphere on a gradient background. I duplicated and intersected the sphere and made the intersection white to imitate reflectance of the ‘floor’ part of the background gradient. I made a white rectangle and converted to path, then bent the top and bottom paths to make the reflection of an overhead lampappear to bend upon the top surface of the sphere. I created center gradients for both the black and white parts of the sphere. I added a grey, blurred, flat gradient for a shadow beneath the sphere. Finally, I duplicated and lowered the opacity of the black sphere and moved it down to create a reflection of the sphere itself in the ground.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

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4 ghosts from Pac Man reimagined – LeMasney Consulting

4 ghosts from Pac Man reimagined - LeMasney Consulting
4 ghosts from Pac Man reimagined - LeMasney Consulting

4 ghosts from Pac Man reimagined - LeMasney Consulting
4 ghosts from Pac Man reimagined – LeMasney Consulting

For the love of Pac Man

So, like many of Gen X, I was highly influenced by the introduction of Pac Man, and feel like the colors, sounds, and excitement that came over me the first time I saw it changed me in ways that I didn’t know until I started to study design. I was never particularly good at the game, and still I have trouble getting past the first level before losing interest. The first time I saw the game, it was inside a Wendy’s Hamburgers in Northeast Philly. It was about the size of a dishwasher, doubled as a table, and had a short queue waiting to play it. The version I play now is free and exists on my phone. It really is the end times.

How I made the image.

In Inkscape, I started by making the simple ellipse, rectangle, and Bezier shapes for the ghost outline. I combined the rectangle and Bezier path, the duplicated and flipped that shape to create the back of the ghost “skirt” In fact, two more dupes were made in order to create the 3d effect of the skirt. I found a public domain skull and bitmap traced it and carved it down to just the eyes and nose, then added it to the ghost. Then I added the candy coating effect. I duplicated the ghost 3 times and affected the color to match the Pac Man colors. As a final touch, I added the final frame of the Pac Man sprite (when he is captured) to the background. I hope you enjoyed it!

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brand consulting design principles Illustration Inkscape portfolio technology

A tribute to Steve Jobs, a portrait in lines.

A portriat of Steve Jobs in line by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
A portriat of Steve Jobs in line by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
A tribute to Steve Jobs, a portrait in lines.
A tribute to Steve Jobs, a portrait in lines.

Playing again with the stitch sub paths live path effect in Inkscape. I took an image of Steve Jobs and did a two part stitch to render his face and hair, then added facial details and turtleneck to finish it out and make it recognizable. Fun stuff.

‘Steven Paul Jobs (/dʒɒbz/; February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American business magnate, industrial designer, investor, and media proprietor. He was the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and co-founder of Apple Inc., the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar, a member of The Walt Disney Company’s board of directors following its acquisition of Pixar, and the founder, chairman, and CEO of NeXT. Jobs is widely recognized as a pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Jobs was born in San Francisco, California, and put up for adoption. He was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended Reed College in 1972 before dropping out that same year, and traveled through India in 1974 seeking enlightenment and studying Zen Buddhism. His declassified FBI report states that he used marijuana and LSD while he was in college, and once told a reporter that taking LSD was “one of the two or three most important things” he had done in his life.’

from “Steve Jobs – Wikipedia” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs curated by lemasney creative. Feel free to share.