Artwork by Hoang Nguyen
Leave it to a rigorous, precise, and experimental graphic designer like Swiss-born, Vienna-based Hoang Nguyen to show us the unique ways she uses Illustrator’s Blend tool.
At its core, the Blend tool distributes shapes evenly between objects, but make a few tweaks here and there, and those basic shapes come alive. It’s kind of like the music Hoang selected in the playlist she curated for us: Repetitive, ambient rhythms develop into experimental instrumentals full of warmth and clarity.
While you listen, check out the practice file at the top of the page — it includes a bevy of funky, 3D-like shapes — and follow along below to learn Hoang’s simple but powerful techniques.
STEP 1/6
Meet the Blend tool.
With the Selection tool, shift-click to select the two ovals. Then select the Blend tool, and click the anchor points on opposite sides of the ovals. Voila!
Doesn’t look like you expected? Double-click on the Blend tool, and in the Blend Options dialog box, set the Specified Steps to 20 — or try out different values.
STEP 2/6
Add more shapes to your blend.
Select all the shapes you want to blend, and align them vertically. To do this, choose Window > Align and select Horizontal Align Center.
With the Blend tool, click on anchor points in each successive shape, alternating sides as you go. Once the blend appears, experiment with the Specified Steps to create more or less density between shapes.
(Tip: If you choose not to alternate sides, you can achieve a different look to your blend.)
STEP 3/6
Change the path.
Draw a shape, like a simple circle.
Select both your blend and the new object, then choose Object > Blend > Replace Spine.
The new shape doesn’t have to be aligned at all — or even touch the original blend — for this to work.
To make a new blend with the same shapes, choose Object > Blend > Release.
STEP 4/6
Try a new look.
Experiment with your design by combining Blend Options with different shapes. Change both the Spacing type and its relevant values to create a wide variety of repeated patterns.
Depending on which points you select on your original shapes, you can create endless variations. Don’t forget that you can change stroke widths and colors, too.
STEP 5/6
Blend more shapes.
Select both the thin sliver shape and the hourglass shape, and align them (Window > Align > Horizontal Center Align). Select the Blend tool, and click the left-middle anchor point of each shape to create a 3D-like effect.
Use this technique to mimic Hoang’s shapes — or create something totally your own.
STEP 6/6
Get wiggly with it.
Double-click on the blend with the Selection tool; everything else on the artboard turns gray. Select and drag one of the blend’s original shapes to contort and reshape it.
Double-click again — again on one of the blend’s original shapes — and stretch, rotate, or otherwise transform that shape. Watch it wiggle as you make it match your vision.
"My design process is both spontaneous and methodical."
— Hoang Nguyen
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hoang Nguyen is a Swiss graphic designer living and working in Vienna, Austria, where she co-founded the graphic design practice Nguyen Gobber. With her studio, she pursues a strong conceptual and typographic approach to create visual identities and editorial designs for the academic, cultural, and social fields. Follow her on Instagram.
