So what is a Surface Pattern Designer?
SURFACE PATTERN DESIGNER:
takes your brand from ‘meh’ to ‘yeah’!
A Surface Pattern Designer is a friend you just haven’t met yet. Haha! Cheesy!!
But in my experience, it isn’t too far from the truth because every brand that I’ve had the pleasure of working with have been absolutely amazing.
It’s no surprise, really that we get connect so well. Because the job of a good Surface Pattern Designer isn’t simply to provide designs for products. It’s to create CONNECTIONS between the brand’s story and the brand’s customers through art.
The first thing I do as a Surface Pattern Designer is I get to know the brand. Really well. Best Buds. I want to know all about the brand story. Why they started up in the first place- what their dreams for the future are. What their vision is for the product. This not only helps me to create a design for them that is truly unique and special to their brand, but it helps down the track because I want to be their biggest cheerleader when they put their product out there into the world!
During the creative phase where I’m working on the design for the product, I like to constantly keep the brand ‘in the loop’, checking that they love my ideas, the colour palette, etc. I also want to help and support them as much as I can during the production phase if they have questions about manufacturing or sizing that I can help with.
Studies show that customers are so much more likely to buy from a brand that they can connect with. They want to know all about the brand story and the process work as the product is created. That’s where a Surface Pattern Designer comes in handy. They create the beautiful design for the product using the brand’s vision and story as the ingredients. They have the power to let customers backstage to see the process work. They can show the customers firsthand what makes this brand so special and unique from the other brands in the market! There are some really exciting collaborations happening between Australian Surface Pattern Designers and small Australian businesses at the moment. It’s just so beautiful to see how talented and creative these people are- and how it’s magnified when we work together!
So in short, a surface pattern designer is someone who creates designs (usually seamless repeat patterns) that can be applied to products like homewares, giftware, clothing, wallpaper, stationary, baby/child products, pet products (and everything in between). Brands can either commission a surface pattern designer to create a custom design for them or purchase the license for a ready-made design from the artist’s pattern library to use on their products.
But ultimately: Surface Pattern Designer + Product Based Business = magical connection between the customer and brand!