My fiancé does research for Aalto University, and in November 2021 his research group was about to publish an article in an (apparently) important and well regarded online journal called “Nature Photonics” (I had never heard of it either.) The professor of the group wished to gain more visibility for their research discoveries. And thus suggested someone of the group design a related cover image for the publication. She emailed her group asking if anyone had any experience with the 3D modeling software Blender, or similar design skills.

To which my boyfriend answered that he didn’t know much, but his fiancée did.

Did I?

Apparently I did.

I know nothing of physics beyond the fact that the apple does magically tend to navigate toward the Earth. So I was a bit worried about designing something of a subject I didn’t really even begin to understand.

Luckily, the professor of the research group, Päivi Törmä, had many visions for this cover, and I had an expert on the subject at home.

And I knew how to use Blender.

I did?

I knew enough. And Google is my friend.

I am not a wizard with the software, but by then I was almost willing to admit I wasn't a beginner either. Not anymore. And I had a very well refined task. Plus, as they were still images, I could edit them even after Blender had rendered me a result.

I actually ended up enjoying this little project more than most anything I had done thus far. I felt like my efforts were truly appreciated. And Päivi at least seemed happy with the three images I finally sent her. So did my fiancé, but I think his opinion might have been biased.

The image didn’t make it to the cover. But it was definitely my most viewed image on the internet, because the group used it for all of the places where the findings were published, all over the world. And even if the audience was a kind of a scientific niche, there are many people filling up that specific niche on an international level.

That’s actually kind of exciting for me as a designer as well.

It was a fun little project that stretched over a few weeks. I had a flu in the middle, but the memories feel warm. Communication was easy. All my emails were answered, which just then felt amazing. And I was happy to help. The task was also such that I knew no one I could have forwarded it to. It was my task. Challenging enough, I learned a lot, but well within my skills.