What I really love about being a pattern design artist is that I get to help out agents, manufactures and retailers by creating artwork for their everyday and seasonal products.

This is no small task for ANY of us!

Think about it for a moment:

Retailers, manufacturers, agencies, and exclusive boutique brands – they have to plan, produce, market, and sell all kinds of products for numerous marketplaces including:

• Stationery
• Home décor
• Food packaging
• Textiles
• Gift packaging
• Accessories
• Ceramics

That’s quite a few products, and they have to keep it fresh year-after-year to keep their customers interested and happy.

This is where I can come in and help.

My job is to conjure up really great surface and textile design and artwork that:

1. Harmonizes with their customers’ wants and needs leaving them cheerful and delighted,
2. Are on-trend as much as possible,
3. And then provide commercial, saleable designs – on a regular basis

I do that and love it!

Why?

Because it’s a challenge to me as an artist, and it also goes hand-in-glove with my love of research and problem solving.

Part of my educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree where I was trained to follow the Five Steps of the Scientific Method:

1. Make an observation
2. Ask a question
3. Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation
4. Make a prediction based on the hypothesis
5. Test the prediction
Then Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions

So I apply this to my textile design!

Observation: There is a need to create a pattern design (or many) that is on-trend, commercial and saleable for everyday and seasonal products. There are many products in the world that need to be beautified.

Question(s): How can I best appeal to the end user and make her or him smiling and happy? How will the products be used?

Hypothesis: By researching the end customer’s background including:

• Where they live
• Income level
• Education level
• Interests
• Where they shop
• Where they vacation
• Amount of disposable income
• Friends, activities, clubs

I can develop an overall picture of what kind of surface patterns, colors, textures and trends may harmonize with these particular consumers.

Prediction: By taking all of the above into account, I can make an educated guess as to what these customers are likely to purchase, enjoy, use, love, and come back for more.

Plus, by weaving in a latest trend or an upcoming trend, and using a fresh color palette, this can keep the designs I develop feeling brand new, commercial and saleable. All good things!

Test: Develop a pattern design (or a collection of them); license it (them) to retailers, agents, manufacturers and listen to the feedback.

Iterate: Lastly, tweak and start again!

So there you have it! My method to creating surface pattern design for everyday & seasonal products!

I hope agents, retailers, manufacturers, and exclusive brands can appreciate the work, thought, effort and love that I put into my pattern design work.

It’s exciting, fulfilling, and I derive a deep childlike joy from playing with color and design and making people happy!

After all, it’s really nice to have surface patterns and textile designs in your home, car, office, or anywhere else that you may spend time, that you can look at, and that make you smile, de-stress , relax or elevate your mood by loving the colors or other factors.

That’s powerful stuff and I love it!

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep In Touch!

I try and let folks know what surface designs I am currently working on here on this blog, so if you want to keep informed when I post, just subscribe to this blog by Email or RSS using the “Subscribe to This Blog by Email or RSS Feed”forms on this page!

Also feel free to leave a comment below.

Meanwhile, if I can be of service to collaborate with your business to put my patterns on your products, let me know, I am a licensing artist and live for collaborations!

Visit my portfolio – or – enter my showroom to see my entire catalog of patterns and prints – or – contact me to say Hello!

Bye for now!

Hilary Rinaldi is a nationally published writer, and an award winning illustrator and designer. She writes about Surface Patterns, because she loves being a Surface Designer, and Artist. You can learn more about Hilary on her Meet Me Page. Her goal in writing these posts is to share her love and enthusiasm for the Textile Pattern and Surface Design Industry, to learn as she goes, and MOST importantly – TO HAVE FUN!