Surface & Pattern Design - City Maps

Here is a few surface patterns that I've been working on for the last week or so. The first one was done for Pin Hop and I had so much fun doing it so I decided to start a series. These are all cities I've visited and adored: Paris, Florence and London. Perhaps I'll continue the series when I've a little more free time.





And a last mention, I won't be posting or online over the next week because I'm exhibiting at New Designers in London with my University. I'll be at Stand T76 so if you're exhibiting or attending say hello :)

Project Process - Shelves

I'm really very nearly almost there with my final project with this being design 9 out of 10. Lately I've been inspired by a lot of interior blogs, specifically Finnish ones like Weekday Carnival, Varpunen and Neovia House so I've tried to incorporate that somehow into this design! For the most part, the items on the shelves were inspired by suggestions from my Twitter friends. I've placed the design in stages just so you can see how the shelves fill up!








As you can see it's intended for placement print but I think it works just as well as a pattern!

Project Process - Nordlys & Tekstil Inspirert

So it turns out I've had to make some "slight" alterations to my project! Being that so far the most successful design I'd completed was the previous Dala Horse. Whilst I've tried to retain my illustrative style to fit with traditional fok art, I've found that to be applicable to a current market it has to be modernised. This, in addition with a lot of contemporary artists I've researched matching the minimal style, means that a lot of my work is going to have to be simplified.

I've wanted to draw the Northern Lights in some way for so long and I'd never found a way to go about it. This was a sketch on paper that took two minutes and I think it works so well. It's minimal, aesthetical and functional which is my aim for at least one of the two collections I have to complete. As this is for gift wrap, perhaps I can afford to be a little more decorative when it comes to creating a collection for greetings cards.
Edit: I made alterations to the Nordlys pattern and added an additional one. Tekstil Inspirert means Textile Inspired (such an original title!). I adore the folk art influence but now I am wondering if the colours combined with the deer and winter trees are a bit too Christmasy? Thoughts appreciated

For Inspiration - Orla Kiely

For personal reasons which cannot be mentioned I'm going to have to "eat my foot" as concerns this post. Let it be said this remains a secret between me and the Northern Irish man in question.

I've never been a huge fan of Orla Kiely. It's too simplistic for my taste and I've never liked the solid vector shape with minimal colouring. I think in a similar way to Marimekko with the red Unikko design, the stem design with the orange and green colourings has been so overused. Never the less I've been drawn into this collection, possibly because of the Riviera print (in circles 6 and 7). I find it so tasteful with the adorably tiny shapes and sweet, fresh colours. The big bold planes are also so charming.

Which are your favourites from the new Orla Kiely collection?

For Inspiration - Marimekko

Marimekko (and Finnish design in general) has always been my biggest inspiration since I began University. No other brand has even come close to being my favourite. Period. My love for it over the years has grown and grown, I've written assignments on it, featured it in almost every project and it was originally my starting inspiration to learn Finnish. So you can imagine my glee when I came across the new book "In Patterns" when I was shopping in the London store.

I already have quite a few Marimekko publications as well as other design and interior books that feature the brand but this is by FAR the best in terms of quality and the amount of information and detail featured. It covers the processes of design and manufacture with each section dedicated to a particular designer, showing you initial sketches, the environments in which they work in and full page prints of designs. One of the reasons Marimekko stands at my favourite brands is that it places the highest priority on promoting their own designers; it's very very rare for a brand to do this.

Here are a selection of my favourite images from the book which I scanned in:

The book is quite expensive at £35, on average most of my own design/pattern books are usually priced around £20. One of the downsides is that you can only get it at a Marimekko store as it's not available online yet, but if you are in London (or if you're really lucky and live in Finland, Marimekko stores are scattered everywhere!) I really suggest you pick a copy up, I promise it's worth every penny. You'll find it so inspirational and resourceful!

Happy reading!