This Week's Rabbit Hole

An experiment in following curiosity wherever it leads

Welcome to my latest experiment: "This week's rabbit hole." If you've been reading my work, you know I have this tendency to start with one small thing and end up three hours deep in research about something completely different. Instead of keeping these curiosity adventures to myself, I'm going to share them with you—the unexpected discoveries, the weird connections, and all the fascinating detours that happen when you're willing to follow where wonder leads.

This week's rabbit hole 🐇 🕳️

I stumbled upon this post by PosterLad & I was really drawn to the final image of the concentric rings that morph into a curve. Because we all know how much I love a good pattern.

That visual pull sent me down a rabbit hole searching for more concentric pattern art, which is how I discovered an artist on Instagram, Jeff Tansey (who uses the handle plotbotstudio). And I became totally captivated by his mesmerizing videos of textured acrylic patterns being painted. I love the way he blends precision with artistry.

Turns out watching this sort of art in action is highly meditative. It was the most serene 2 minutes of my day.

This got me thinking about the little zen garden that I keep in my office & how I find it calming to use the various rakes and stamps to create symmetrical patterns in the sand.

Which got me wondering why these sorts of concentric designs make me feel calm. It's not just that I find them aesthetically pleasing, they actually have an impact on my nervous system.

So I did a bit of research and quickly discovered there is a whole field of study around pattern psychology. Apparently humans are genetically hardwired to find symmetry pleasing & reassuring particularly when curving shapes and a neutral color palette are involved - which explains why I was so drawn to that illustration by PosterLad because it checks all those boxes.

I also learned that interestingly, too much symmetry can actually cause feelings of boredom or disengagement. This is why there is a core tenet in Japanese aesthetic principles called fukinsei (不均整), which requires the use of asymmetry or irregularity in order to create balance in a composition. In short symmetry with a hint of irregularity will invoke a sense of calm, but not boredom. The opposite is also true - using vivid colors in combination with bold angular shapes can invoke a feeling of being energized.

If you want to dive deeper, I've shared a few resources that I find interesting below 👇

https://europeblog.milliken.com/can-patterns-influence-our-emotions

https://science.howstuffworks.com/why-do-get-so-much-pleasure-from-symmetry.htm#google_vignette

https://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2009/09/exposing-ourselves-to-traditional-japanese-aesthetic-ideas-notions-that-may-seem-quite-foreign-to-most-of-us-is-a-goo.html

As someone who loves illustrating patterns, this has given me a lot to think about. I'm looking forward to incorporating these ideas into my pattern illustration practice.

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Hi 👋I'm Katie and I have A LOT of different interests. One of my favorite hobbies is connecting the dots between seemingly disparate topics.

I'm testing out this new "rabbit hole" format, and your feedback will help me decide whether to keep going with it. If you found yourself getting pulled into this exploration of patterns and psychology—or if you just enjoyed the ride—give this post a like or let me know in the comments. I have no shortage of curiosity adventures to share, but I want to make sure they're resonating before I commit to making it a regular thing.