well, this is actually a simple question. Idea is everywhere. our surrounding is the most inspiring idea for example nature, animal, people etc. the challenging part is to bring the surrounding subject and convert it to an interesting art. this concept is not only for visual art, but also include all the art form ever exist (performing art, music, and even martial art for god sake...)for this post, lets focus on simple vector art.

How to create a cool design by just observing our surrounding.

the answer is simple (according to my stlye):-

  1. First you have to combine it with other material. for example you got an idea from rose and you start to develop your idea from it. why not you combine the idea with its characteristic. for example you see rose as the love symbol. from there u will get the idea to develop the design into the heart-shape-rose.
  2. 2nd is to use the art principal and element. you have to know which principal and element of design is suitable to make the design interesting. The key word for this step is the knowledge of art. to make a design with high value, you have to get serious and read about the principal and element.
  3. the last part is using our experience. what have u seen, what have u done, what have u wear, what have u watch and what have u eat is the kind of experience that im talking about. this really help you to create an interesting composition and color combination for your design.
this is what i do when i creating a design. im not saying that my design is super cool. but im sure that with my method above, it will help the new designer to overcome the creative-block syndrome.

i got some not-so-good idea development. this is for school level actually. hahaha. ok ok.. dor idea development, 1st you must have your subject matter. for example bellow i use rose as my subject matter. and from there i start to sketch my idea.

Q: Why must i sketch the whole damn idea from my brain while you can just develop it with your brain?
A: sketching is like an documentation. u sketch your idea that's mean you transfer the idea from brain to paper and you can see with your own eyes whether the idea is really cool or not. on the other hands, with sketching process you can improve your design from one to another by doing corrections, adding detail and whatsoever. for example from the picture above, you keep sketching and sketching until you really satisfy.

(1 rule for sketching process is don"t use eraser. this is the biggest distraction, time wasting and waste of energy.)

After u satisfied with your design, add the color. (this is still in sketches process, so put as many color combination as you like.

This is the simple example

Choose one of the best color as your final design. use your own rationale to choose your final artwork. as a designer, you should have the ability to assess the design, including your own design.


from the sketches, i choose this as the final design. emmm... what a wasted if you produce a cool design but end up as useless collection. why not to put it on sale? let's put it on shirt sall we?


here there are... nice huhh? hehehe....

fyi: this progress work flow is made for my friends.

P/s: design something that satisfied yourself. from that you will satisfied others. if ur design that u satisfied unable to satisfied other, u not an designer.

reference: from what i've learn/from what i've conclude/from what i've observe