As a surface pattern designer, it’s important that you are continuously finding ways to be inspired as well as developing your design and business skills. Here are some of my top design resources for your surface pattern designs that I refer to or use within my business regularly.

Top Design Resources for your Surface Pattern Designs

BOOKS:

I love the tactile nature of books so I’m always referring to them for inspiration and information.

Textile Designs: 200 Years of Patterns for Printed fabrics arranged by Motif, Colour, Period and Design – This book is like a textile design bible! With over 400 pages full of images of different designs styles it’s a comprehensive guide and a great reference book

Basics Textile Design: Sourcing Ideas: Researching Colour, Surface, Structure, Texture and Pattern – This book looks at the early stages of the design development process for textile designers from sourcing ideas to developing designs.

Cut and Fold Paper Texture –A stunning book that shows different ways of using paper to create texture and pattern.

The fundamentals of Printed Textile Design- A comprehensive guide to being a surface pattern designer from design techniques to building a portfolio to having your own design business.

Crafting Textiles in the Digital Age – A look at textile designers who combine traditional craft techniques and digital processes.

Owning it: A creatives guide to copyright, contracts and the law- An easy to read and understand book that explains legal issues applicable to a creative business including protecting your designs, copyright, trademarks and intellectual property

The Pattern Source Book– Lots of images of patterns from the last 100 years to inspire you.

The Pattern Base- Another book with loads of inspirational pattern designs

Digital Textile Design- Some great tips for those learning Photoshop and Illustrator to create designs

Patternity: A New Way of Seeing– Gets you thinking of how to find pattern in the everyday

Pattern Studio: A Creative Workbook- This book will help you brainstorm and find new ideas to create interesting patterns.

Printed Textile Design- A great guide to printed textile design from brief to finished collections for those starting out.

Victoria and Albert Museum Pattern: A range of different books covering different design eras. You can buy them individually or as a box set. Such a great reference.  

Print and Pattern (Bowie Style)- All of her books are a great resource with lots of patterns to be inspired by

Cloth Bound- A gorgeous book that shows the creative process and practice of textile designer Julie Paterson

My Heart Wanders: This isn’t a surface pattern design book but it is an inspiring book that is uplifting and rejuvenates my creativity 

I have created a Resource Guide for you to download with my favourite books, blogs, websites, tools and BONUS forecasting resources. 

BLOGS AND WEBSITES:

Print and Pattern: https://printpattern.blogspot.com.au/ 

A must for anyone interested in what’s currently happening in the world of surface pattern design.

Design Seeds: https://www.design-seeds.com/

Colour inspiration

Oh Joy: http://www.ohjoy.blogs.com/

Design, colour, pattern, food, fun

Fly Fabulously Creative: http://flygirls.typepad.com/fly/

Beautiful and inspiring images and ideas

 Design*Sponge: http://www.designsponge.com/

Design inspiration

Décor8: http://decor8blog.com/

Beautiful images of interiors and décor and other stuff

Pattern Bank: http://blog.patternbank.com/

Up to date look at the latest trends

Oh So Beautiful Paper: http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/

Lifestyle and design blog

A Beautiful Mess: http://abeautifulmess.com/

Craft, colour, design, inspiration

 Paper and Stitch: https://www.papernstitchblog.com/

DIY, fashion, styling and home décor

The Design Files: http://thedesignfiles.net/

Design blog with lots of beautifully photographed inspirational homes

Design Love Fest: http://www.designlovefest.com/

A lifestyle blog

Oh Happy Day: http://ohhappyday.com/

Lots of colour, fun, and inspiration

The House that Built Lars: http://thehousethatlarsbuilt.com/

Beautiful design and lifestyle images to inspire

SF Girl By Bay: http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/

A lovely blog with a modern bohemian style

The Jungalow: http://www.thejungalow.com/

Rich with colour, pattern, and design

TOOLS:

Pantone Fan Deck- I use the Textile Pantone fan deck with TPX colours. This allows me to quote exact colours for my clients or to send to suppliers.

Wacom Intuos Tablet- I’ve had used a Wacom tablet for 15 years now and I seriously cannot design without it. For me, it’s just like drawing on paper!

Canon Lide220 Scanner- I use this scanner to scan in all my hand drawn sketches and artwork for my designs.

Siteground Web Hosting- I use Siteground and being not so tech savvy I have found the support team to be awesome.

Screenflow- An easy to use program that allows me to create video tutorials where I can record my computer screen. Great easy to use editing features too.

I would love to hear what your favourite go to resources are.

Don’t forget to download your FREE Reference Guide with BONUS forecasting references