Visual diary

Designing — the human-centered kind I do for a living — is a lot of professional noticing. Watching how people behave, what they want, where things rub. I can’t really turn that habit off, and I don’t want to. So when I’m out hiking, paddle boarding, or just on a walk, I’m noticing other things: the way light shifts through the trees, how a heron stalks a fish, the little rituals my cats have built around the house. Nature has behavior, too, and it turns out to be an equally good teacher. Inspiration ends up being everywhere you bother to look.

It’s also how I refill the tank. When I stop observing, I run out of juice to make anything. So I capture the little moments — scenery, wildlife, a cozy night at home, an afternoon with friends — and pair each month’s collection with a song I had on repeat. They’re my monthly diaries, basically. A way to stay present, and a record I can look back on.

Fair warning: you’ll see a lot of my husband and very little of me. This is through my eyes, so this is what life looks like from here.