We are going to be looking at some of the different ways that you can go about selling your surface pattern designs. And we’re going to be talking about this through the lens of being a designer, working from home in your own home studio. So not from the lens of someone wanting to go out and get full-time work in the surface pattern design industry.

We are going to start with licensing your designs because I know that people probably hear this word thrown around, and if you’re new to surface pattern design, you may not be really sure exactly what licensing is or how it works. Licensing is the leasing out of your design under set conditions that you will determine in a contract. Now, the contract terms will really vary depending on what’s required from the client, the product category etc. but basically your contract should state clearly how they can use the design and for how long etc.

There are two main ways that you can license your design, non exclusively and exclusively and in this podcast episode we dive into the differences between the two.

Another way you can look at selling your designs is using print on demand sites. Print on demand sites work by uploading your designs onto these sites and when someone purchases a product with your design on it, you get a commission for that sale. Print on demand sites and can be a great form of passive income.

Other options include freelancing where you will generally work to a clients brief. This means that you will usually need to adapt your style to suit their requirements or you could have your work commissioned.

Make sure you listen to this podcast episode where we talk deeper about all of these methods to sell your designs.

You can download my Pattern Design Secrets eBook here