Gettin’ back to my roots
How an in-class assignment reignited my pattern-making brain
Last week I was asked to create a few, real quick poster designs. “Don’t think too much about it. Throw some patterns in there if you want,” I was instructed. And then…BOOM! My brain lit up. “I know how to do this. I created patterns for two years.”
Before becoming a part of the CMCI Studio ** program in August 2018, I worked at a little shop in the Santa Fe Art District of Denver, Colorado called Knotty Tie Co. This start up was born six years ago with $500 and a dream to employ resettled refugees.
“As a social enterprise since our start, we’re passionate about creating meaningful employment opportunities for skilled resettled refugees. Their professional skills, combined with our advanced printing and production technology, results in the highest quality products possible in an environmentally responsible way.”
The Vision: a better life for refugees.
The Mission: to create opportunities for resettling refugees by making high quality, meaningful products.
The Story: Knotty Tie Co. is redefining small-batch apparel manufacturing while demonstrating the impact a social mission can have for small businesses.
I designed ties, and a few other things, but mostly ties, for two years. Pattern designing and developing thought me a few things:
Adobe Illustrator is your new BFF.
Adobe Illustrator is by far my favorite Adobe program. The limits are non-existent. Creating vector things makes me so happy, and that’s what Adobe Illustrator is all about. The tool I used the most as a pattern designer was, you guessed it, the Pattern Tool. Here’s an awesome tutorial from adobe that walks you through how to use it.
Make as many patterns as you can; even if you think they’re shit.
Practice, practice, practice. That’s what will always make you better. I remember looking back at some of my first patterns thinking, “Man, those look rough.” But I never threw them away. Maybe because I’m sentimental, but maybe because I knew deep down I could go back to them one day and refine them. You might make something great by using an old element from a previous piece of work.
Find inspiration.
Other patterns are always a good way to trigger inspiration. However, I got the most inspiration from other pattern developers’ work. Some bad-ass pattern designers include — Yehrin Tong, Dan Funderburgh, Abigail Borg.
Think of your pattern as a pattern, not a product.
I used to get so hung up on, “Well, what if this guy doesn’t like this tie pattern. He won’t wear it if he doesn’t like it!” And that is how you limit yourself. Some of my best work came from me just designing. Don’t get me wrong; you do have to think of the consumer/user, of course. But, when you start to think outside the box, that’s when the true magic gets created.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with color.
Some of my favorite color pallets came from researching wallpaper. That’s right! Boring ole’, probably on your grandma’s wall, wallpaper. When you start thinking of color as the main event and not just an asset, great themes can come to life. One of my favorite series I made at Knotty Tie Co. were my Seventies Succulents. Don’t get me wrong, the succulents were beautiful, but the colors made it.
Have fun!
Milton Glaser once said,
“There are three responses to a piece of design — yes, no, and WOW!”
Overall, work towards the WOW! and have fun doing it.
Patterns are cool and so is Knotty Tie Co. Check them out if you’re going to a wedding or need ties for a corporate event! The people they employ make me warm and fuzzy inside.
** CMCI stands for the College of Media, Communication, and Information found at the University of Colorado. Through this program I am receiving a Master of Arts in Strategic Communication design (STCM).
