I am designing a logo today. The client wants the logo to include a boat, so this meant researching boat shapes on the web, as well as looking back at photos of the Lisbon maritime museum. The image search unexpectedly threw up some beautiful origami boats and I made two of them, following the very clear instructions on  origami-make.com. The boats are beginner’s level projects. I learnt two types of paper folds – mountain (which forms a peak)  and valley (which dips inwards).

There is barely anything to the orange paper boat, but is still manages to give a impression of floating, calm and serenity. It even has direction and a sense of movement.

I used the origami paper that was already on my desk, kindly given to me by a master kimono maker, Akiko Nakata. In the packet were some of her and her friend’s intriguing paper folding projects, which I think they made as a past-time while traveling. Some of the shapes have pencil notes jotted in Japanese.

The origami boat drawn in Illustrator.

Colours, shapes, painted names and emblems of traditional Portugese boats. They were photographed at the Maritime Museum at Belem, Lisbon.

Sea salt bought in a shop near the water front market in Lisbon. The shop had baskets of baccalau, dried and salted cod. The pieces are wide and long and cardboard stiff. I thought I spotted a bag of dry crackers for dipping in an on board fish stew.
My interest started with the book ‘The History of Cod’ that links cod fishing to world events. ‘Salt’ was the follow up book.

Lisbon is a place for taking a small, strong, sugary coffee whilst standing at the counter of a cafe. These cups from the flea market are decorated with the logos of the individual coffee blends or cafes.