Playground

An archive of curiosity and experiments

This space is a collection of personal projects created purely for the love of the process. Looking back over the last two decades, I can see how these early experiments with 3D forms, typography, and tactile materials became the foundation for my professional practice. This is where my ideas begin.

Mick

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Circles

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2025

Precision Geometry

This project was an experiment in refining the visual language of my Querkles series. While the original books lean into a more organic, hand-shaded feel, I wanted to see what would happen if I rendered the same concept with absolute mathematical precision.

By using perfectly weighted, clean-edged circles, the portrait of a young Mick Jagger emerges from a field of rigid geometry. Up close, the image dissolves into a beautiful, abstract pattern of intersecting rings

Kanye

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Rings

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2020

Spaghetti Sans

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Typography

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2018

The continuous strand

This was my first foray into typeface design. I wanted to see if I could create an entire alphabet where every letter appeared to be formed from a single, continuous strand of pasta. The result was a playful, fluid font that captured the organic, tangled nature of spaghetti while maintaining the precision of a functional typeface.

The Architecture of the Circle

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Illustration

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2012

From Blade Runner to Querkles

This project was the laboratory for what would eventually become my second book series. I began with an ambitious technical challenge: a massive illustration of a scene from Blade Runner composed of over 6,000 individual circles. I wanted to push the limits of the medium to see exactly how much cinematic detail and tonal depth could be achieved through a single geometric shape.

Once I proved the complexity was possible, I began the process of subtraction. I experimented with simplifying the technique, stripping away thousands of elements to see how few circles were actually required to maintain a recognizable portrait. This journey from 6,000 circles down to a refined, manageable grid is what ultimately defined the visual language of Querkles.

John Walker

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10,000 Matchsticks

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2011

A tribute in matches

This series was born from a desire to honor the minds behind the everyday objects we often take for granted. My first tribute was to John Walker, the inventor of the match. I purchased 10,000 individual matches and spent weeks arranging them into a typographic composition of his name. To conclude the project, I took the piece to the beach and set it alight, a fleeting final nod to his invention.

Alan Holloway

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Blue Tack

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2011

Blu Tack Typography

The second installment of my tribute series focused on Alan Holloway, the man behind Blue Tack. Using the material itself as the medium, I explored its unique tactile properties to create the name of the inventor. It was an exercise in using a household staple to celebrate the quiet impact of simple, brilliant ideas.

Doodle Cushions

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Illustration

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2010

100 Icons

I set myself the challenge of drawing 100 vector icons of whatever came to mind, with no specific end goal in sight. Once the set was complete, I wanted to find a way to give these digital doodles a tactile life. I had the icons printed onto textiles and, with the help of a friend’s sewing skills, transformed a digital exercise into a series of cushions.

Contour Bowl

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Laser Cut 3D

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2010

From screen to sculpture

Continuing my fascination with how two-dimensional shapes look in three-dimensional space, I designed a form that mimicked a topographic bowl. This was my first real opportunity to see a digital idea enter the physical world. I had the pieces laser-cut and hand-glued them together, creating a functional object where the play of light and shadow changed based on the viewer's perspective.

The first Dot-to-Dot

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Experimental

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2010

A 1,000-point proof of concept

At a time when Barack Obama was a central figure in the global conversation, I chose him as the subject for a creative challenge. I wanted to see if I could transform a childhood activity into a complex, high-fidelity work of art. This drawing was the catalyst for everything that followed, sparking a decade-long journey into the world of published books.

Jesus Iso

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Illustration

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2009

Topographic Typography

This project was a bridge between my interest in music and my desire to learn 3D software. I took the lyrics to one of my favorite Wilco songs and transformed abstract shapes into three-dimensional forms. Working within a signature isometric perspective in Google SketchUp, I explored how language could take on a physical, architectural presence.