Category: Inspiration

Designing Patterns: For Decoration, Fashion and Graphics

2/14/2015

Designing Patterns:
Decoration, Fashion and Graphics
Lotta Kuhlhorn
Gestalten, Berlin, 2014
ISBN 978-3-89955-515-8

"Designing Patterns: For Decoration, Fashion and Graphics" is a lively, fun and detailed book by one of Scandinavia's leading designers. Lotta Kuhlhorn's vibrant surface patterns and her design methods make this a page turner. She shares multiple forms of inspiration which drive her designs, from nature, to film, to objects in stores and homes, and more, and she tells wonderful stories about her process for designing everything from trays to wallpaper. The book includes numerous full page color plates.

Kuhlhorn looks for patterns everywhere as they correspond to her surroundings, whether urban or in nature. For example, I love how she creates stripes from meaningful concepts in everyday life. Kuhlhorn discusses how each stripe on a design can be a symbolic representation, perhaps from a trip, an urban area, a human relationship, etc. The possibilities are endless. I'm excited to try the idea myself, along with several of her other tips, which she describes in detail.

The book is arranged in sections on Kuhlhorn's inspiration, her work methods, patterns, and do-it-yourself projects, and also includes a Pattern Starter Kit CD.

-Jennifer Holbrook

Images are from http://usshop.gestalten.com/designing-patterns.html

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Celia Birtwell

1/23/2015

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Ceila Birtwell
by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens
St Martin's Press October 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1250003065 ISBN-10: 9781250003065

The book Celia Birtwell, takes a loose walk along the timeline of Birtwell’s life and career. It is part autobiography, part free flowing conversation with the designer herself and therefore very easy to read.

Celia Birtwell’s textile design career took off in the early 60’s when she began her decade-long collaboration with Ossie Clark, an up and coming fashion designer. Immediately they were the darlings of the high fashion industry with clients such as the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Paloma Picasso and Talitha Getty.

"Most textile designers don't think about where the print will end up, how it will work in three dimensions, but Celia always does." --Linda Watson

During this time period computers were not used in the design process. It was all drawing, blowing up the image to life size and laying motifs out. Birtwell’s process specifically was to draw a face, then the garment below, only then would she begin to design the fabric. “Most textile designers don’t think about where the print will end up, how it will work in three dimensions, but Celia always does,” says Linda Watson.

After 10 years in the fast paced fashion world Birtwell’s partnership with Ossie Clark ended in divorce. With 2 sons to raise Birtwell was looking for a change and found the slow process of designing interior textiles fit her perfectly. Celia Birtwell is still going strong, check out her website to see what she is up to now. http://www.celiabirtwell.com/
--Jennifer Thayer

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The Sketch Chronicles: Jen Thayer

1/14/2015

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In the last year I have been spending a lot more time with my sketchbook. So much so that I bring it with me almost everywhere I go. I like to use a larger book around 8 x 11. My current book has a spine, but I am looking forward to switching to a spiral bound book. I like to turn my page in all directions when I am working and I find that the book with the spine is just too wide on the one side. For writing implements I prefer working with Micron Pigma Pens and find myself leaning towards 02 and 005. Currently I use black ink but I want to try different colors in the future.

Pretty much whenever the mood takes me I pull out the book and get to work. I tend to fill up a whole page at a time. If I find a shape that I like I keep pushing it seeing what other way I can make it different. When I am ready to make something into a pattern I flip through the book to find an image that speaks to me. It could be something I just made or something I worked on months ago. I then scan it into the computer at 600 dpi or higher and get to work.

In most cases I bring it into Photoshop, clean it up and begin to lay out a pattern right away. However some images are just begging to be put into Illustrator and drawn out. It really just depends on the image. Then its all play play play with the programs till you have a great pattern.

I really enjoy working in this way and all of the motifs are original!
-Jennifer Thayer

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Pantone's Color of 2015: Marsala

12/9/2014

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Last week Pantone announced their color of the year for 2015. About Marsala, their chosen color, they say:

"Much like the fortified wine that gives Marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness. This hearty, yet stylish tone is universally appealing and translates easily to fashion, beauty, industrial design, home furnishings and interiors."

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Create Your Own Grunge Brushes in Adobe Photoshop

10/23/2014

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Continuing with this week's inspiration theme, I'm loving this Grunge Brush tutorial from design.tutsplus.com. Grunge brushes are a great way to bring dimension into your CAD art work, creating a more painterly and less "flat" look.
tutsplus.com is a great resource of free tutorials. I've found that there's nothing like a tutorial for revealing the potential in the complicated CAD programs I sometimes simultaneously love and hate.

And for some more texture-y goodness, take a look at the following member profiles: Odessa Begay, Jeannene Langford and Sam Osborne. These artists all stand out for their use of subtle texture to add depth and warmth to their work!

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The Sketch Chronicles: Odessa Begay

9/19/2014

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For sketching I mostly just use loose pieces of computer paper and a pencil on a clipboard. I have a tendency to make the sketches really tiny then fill up all the remaining blank spaces on the page (front and back) with various sketches for other things. The fox and spy dog sketches I’m including were done within a few days of each other so they were on the same piece and side of paper.

When I’m making characters or icons with a theme, I usually have a really strong idea of the design I want to do and sketch all the pieces out at once. When I’m doing botanicals or a geometric based idea, I try to be more free with the shapes and placement while sketching and I will fill up more of the page. There are times when I only have the beginnings of the idea which I take into Illustrator and experiment with. Or I make a design and once it’s in Illustrator I realize I don’t like it as much as I thought I did and then mess around with it there.

I also keep a small notebook in my bag in case I need to write a note or draw a quick shape to remind myself of an idea later, but I don’t do any real sketching in it.

I don’t use any of my actual sketches in my artwork, they’re really just there as a map of what I want to do and to make sure I know exactly how I plan to draw a certain object. After I sketch on paper, I re-draw everything in Illustrator using a Wacom tablet. It’s actually a lot quicker for me to just re-draw something than to scan and trace. I’ve also created a custom set of brushes based on my hand done drawings that help expedite this process.

Once I have my shapes I smooth out the edges, adjust anchor points, and pick a color palette. Sometimes the color palette is a bigger inspiration for the direction of what I’m doing and I will pick that out before I even start sketching. After the drawing is done and the colors are set in Illustrator, I move everything over to Photoshop and start painting to add texture and shading (also done with custom brushes) . I sometimes change the colors once I’m in Photoshop but I try to get that part out of the way in Illustrator. The painting step isn’t always necessary since my drawings could be considered finished in Illustrator, but I like the dimension a painted texture can add.

I do occasionally paint with watercolors or use Faber Castel markers but I almost never use any of these scans in my finished work. At least not at the moment anyway. They’re usually just for fun or sketching purposes.
-Odessa Begay

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Meeting Tonight: Tutes and Peer-to-Peer Learning

9/11/2014

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Are you bringing your "problem children" to the meeting tonight? Learning from each other is one of the best features and benefits of belonging to the Guild!

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Our Next Meeting: Thursday, September 11, 2014

9/7/2014

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THIS JUST ADDED: Do you have an Illustrator or Photoshop problem that you need help with? Bring your file on a laptop or thumb drive, and we'll have an impromptu peer-to-peer problem solving session!

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The Fancy Shape

8/6/2014

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Designers frequently enjoy a little something to occupy their ears, while hands and eyes are busy creating. Podcasts are always a good bet, and one of my favorites is 99% INVISIBLE, a podcast about design. I was doubly delighted with a recent episode entitled The Fancy Shape, which is all about a design element called the quatrefoil, and a little bit about trend spotting too! Though the Arabic world may have perfected it, and then spread it's use far and wide, the geometric quality of the quatrefoil means that it has appeared in the decorative arts of nearly every culture. And it seems to be the new darling of the design world; the quatrefoil is the new chevron, if you will! On the episode page, Roman Mars and his crew have provided many an architectural example of this universal motif.

And for your viewing pleasure, we've gathered several recent examples of the quatrefoil in surface pattern design. (Click on an image for a link back to the original product.) Finally, a link to the book Mr. Mars mentions, The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones.
-Pamela Farmer

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Next Meeting: August 14th with guest speaker Brennan Mulligan of SKYOU

7/29/2014

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Our next meeting features guest speaker Brennan Mulligan of Skyou. Brennan is the first of many awesome speakers we are bringing to the guild from Surtex. He instantly stood out in the crowd because he was wearing an amazing tee-shirt. Turns out that tee was a product from SILO, the e-commerce platform powered by Skyou's on-demand technology. The evening's presentation will feature products designed by our very own Jenny Thayer. Stay tuned for more!

-Pamela Farmer

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<< Previous

Designing Patterns: For Decoration, Fashion and Graphics

Celia Birtwell

The Sketch Chronicles: Jen Thayer

Pantone's Color of 2015: Marsala

Create Your Own Grunge Brushes in Adobe Photoshop

The Sketch Chronicles: Odessa Begay

Meeting Tonight: Tutes and Peer-to-Peer Learning

Our Next Meeting: Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Fancy Shape

Next Meeting: August 14th with guest speaker Brennan Mulligan of SKYOU

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