In this blogpost, we’re going to look at the scope of work and different jobs you can have as a surface pattern designer.

Are you ready to put your designs out there and start getting work? Are you unsure of what to put into your portfolio? They are two common questions that can be stumbling blocks for those of you who are new to design and are wanting to start working within the industry.

One of the questions that people ask me a lot is ‘how do I get my work in front of clients and seen in front of clients?’. You need to start off by doing research and coming up with the list of customers/clients that you want to contact. You then need to find out the contact details for those people so that you can then start the process of sending your work to them. But, you want to do this in a very systemized way.

t can be really confusing if you’re new to designing learning how to go about selling your designs. You’ve probably heard about licensing designs but maybe you’re not exactly sure what the means. 

What is licensing? 
So first of all, licensing is essentially the leasing out of your design for someone to use under some set conditions that you have agreed for upon and there are lots of different ways that you can do this. But before I go into that, I want to compare licensing your work versus selling your designs outright.

Creating pattern designs is only the first step in becoming a successful surface pattern designer. Once you’ve learned how to create beautiful designs, you’re going to want to start selling them. Before you do there are some things you should consider before you even start designing that will help you when you go to sell your designs. Here are tips to help sell your designs.

What do you do when you’re designs aren’t selling?
You’ve put in endless hours of work getting a portfolio of work together not to mention the hours researching and gathering a list of potential companies and clients to contact and then all you hear is crickets! At this point, I’m sure you’re feeling exhausted, disappointed and frustrated. You probably feel like giving up.
But, don’t give up just yet! There are a few things for you to think about and consider first.

If you have a love of print and pattern design then you probably dream of having a career as a surface pattern designer. How you fit into the industry will depend on your goals. Do you want to work autonomously or would you prefer a regular paycheck? There are lots of different options and what you choose will depend on your experience, your dreams and goals as well as your current work/life situation. Here are a few examples of surface pattern design jobs for you to consider.

In order to make a career as a successful surface pattern designer, you need to be able to create designs that sell. Why do some designs sell and others not? What is it that makes a design successful? By having a look at 5 top tips to create surface pattern designs that sell, you’ll be able to start answering those questions.

When we think of surface pattern design we most commonly think of it being applied to a fabric. There are however many different surface applications for your pattern designs.
Any surface has the potential to be decorated with a surface pattern design. Different surfaces will require different application processes however the design process will be similar, if not the same.