This week’s sketch might look like a 4 x 4 grid, but it’s actually 8 x 8 (with a border). Each block is a 4-patch made up of one square, two half-square triangles, a half-circle and a rectangle. Tile and rotate the blocks, and the diagonal, horizontal and vertical lines start joining up to make new shapes. And so much movement!

Alter the block rotation, and those diagonal black squares shift up and over. I love how such a simple design can have so much going on.

The diagonal black squares are kinda empty, so let’s fill them with something. More curves seems apt.

Or maybe curves without so much colour. That’s better.

Another thing I often try with block-based designs is setting the layout on point – basically a layout where the square blocks are all rotated by 45 degrees. I really love this variation – all the elements and movement are still there, but with slightly fewer blocks (13 instead of 16), it just feels a little lighter I think.

We can fill those inner circles back in…

…or leave the squares empty.

I love so many things about this sketch. The back and forth, scribble-like movement of the curves across the whole design; the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines that emerge to create secondary shapes; the symmetry and simplicity… it just ticks alll the boxes for me. It’s the kind of design where I think ‘OMG THIS IS THE BEST DESIGN I’VE EVER DONE!’ hahaha, so I’ll be interested to see what other people think 🙂

This one’s definitely going on my list of things to (possibly) make in 2023.