I sketched this at work to help me consider some data scenarios. So it is a technical diagram. In no way was I considering my art studies when I drew this.

During my lunch break, I switched to thinking about art, doing a bit of browsing, and my eyes kept returning to my sketch. Although not my intention, I thought it was aesthetically pleasing. Reminiscent of a Zeppelin.

I’m now looking at how the piece could be modified. I am initially drawn to make it look prettier, but that moves away from the original information contained in the drawing. Going down that route might leave me with a vacant abstract image of shapes and colours, which I’m not so interested in. That suggests I should ensure the information is preserved as best I can – but would that just be an exercise in data visualisation? Ideally, I’d like to find a good middle ground between containing the information and making a visually appealing picture that I’d want to hang on my wall.

As a software developer, I occasionally use diagrams to explore or explain structures and relationships, but this is the first time I’ve looked at a diagram from an artistic viewpoint. I may start to pay more attention from now on.

I’d be interested to hear if any of my readers have examples of visuals from their work, or indeed their life outside of work and painting. If you have any examples, please get in touch with me either directly or via the comments. Thanks!

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