Baha’i-inspired Art on Social Media: Mithaq on his Perspáctive

With the growing array of social media tools available to us, individuals have never had such great opportunities to share their inspirations with a wide audience (Instagram alone for instance has over 150 million users) and so that’s exactly what Mithaq, a San Diego-based artist under the username Perspáctive has been doing on social media.

Billed simply as “art that inspires”, Perspáctive features graphic artworks and illustrations incorporating inspirational quotes that are shared on both Instagram and more recently on Tumblr. With over 100 images and some 1000+ followers, Mithaq’s work really resonates with his audience making Perspáctive one of the most popular and active projects serving up high-quality Baha’i-inspired content.

I had the opportunity to meet Mithaq a few months ago in San Diego and we’ve been in touch ever since. I’ve seen a lot of people re-posting a lot of his work online (including us here), so I thought it would be great to ask him a few questions about Perspáctive and to share it with our readers:

Baha’i Blog: So what was the genesis of the idea of Perspáctive?

After joining Instagram out of curiosity, I soon realized that besides “selfies” which the platform is mostly associated with, many also use the service to share inspirational quotes and exchange ideas that resonates with them.

Baha’i Blog: So how did you go about creating your quote-based graphic art?

I analyzed other quote-based graphics that were popular and looked at what contributed to their ability to get the user’s attention. I then tested those theories with my own work over time, and I can share the learnings as the following few points:
1. Social media quotes are short and only relay one idea – two at most.
2. Typography is key. Since words are the main attraction, they must be beautiful.
3. The artwork should be made for the specific platform with consideration of image dimensions and size.
4. They are creative in design and each one is unique.

Baha’i Blog: So what process do you go through when creating the artwork?

When I run into a quote that attracts my interest, I start to look for a photo that could complement it visually – it can also happen visa-a-versa.

Then comes the process of creating the artwork, which is done entirely on the mobile device using apps like Over. The whole process takes about an hour for each piece and I enjoy it as a quick art project.

Baha’i Blog: What tips do you have for others creating quote-based graphic works?

Try to find powerful writings that could be easily read and understood by your audience – in this case, users who spend seconds on each photo. Find or create appropriate visuals that complement the quote and are not a random background. And finally, take your time to create something that is thoughtful and pleasing to the inner and outer eye.

Baha’i Blog: Thanks so much Mithaq and keep up the great work!

Below are a few select images from Perspáctive, and be sure to follow the project on Instagram and Tumblr to see more!

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Naysan Naraqi

Naysan is passionate about using the arts and media to explore the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Back in 2011, Naysan started up the Baha’i Blog project, channeling his experiences in both media and technology companies to help create a hub for Baha’i-inspired content online.