A few months ago, a friend and former colleague of mine, R, commissioned a seamless repeat pattern for a custom-print large deskmat - one of those long rectangular ones on which you place your keyboard and mouse. Popular, I believe, with gamers.
It was my first pattern commission.
The “Brief”
The “brief” was simple; he wanted me to design a pattern based on the “Overfloor” - the name given to one of the buildings of the school he went to. It is perhaps the most recognisable feature of his school, with its pseudo Graeco-Roman pillars and the wide expanse of green fronting it (the building overlooks the school’s rugby field). I guess I should explain here that the school is well known not only for its academic achievements, but also (perhaps more so?) for the fervent loyalty and pride displayed by its alumni. Being married to an alumnus myself, I was quite familiar with their fealty, and I’ve seen many an alumni tie, kain sampin, and lanyard out in the wild to understand that an Overfloor deskmat was bound to join the family one day. That I would have anything to do with it was something I had not expected.
Sure, I said. I’ll see what I can do.
This was going to be a new challenge for me. I hadn’t attempted designing a pattern based on buildings prior to this, and I couldn't (still can’t!) draw a straight line to save my life. Why do you think all my doodles are circles?!? Yes, there are rulers and set squares and fancy geometry sets, but I obstinately chose to sketch and draw freehand, and celebrate all the wonkiness and non-perpendicular angles that came with it.
Ink & watercolour sketch. It looks as if the roof is ablaze. I promise you it’s unintentional.
I attempted a few styles: a straightforward pencil and ink sketch, loose charcoal sketches, sketches with and without watercolour, and geometrically-perfect vector-based stylised shapes. I digitised the sketches and worked on them in Procreate and Photoshop for when I wanted to retain the gritty, grainy quality of the charcoal lines or the painterly look of watercolour, or in Illustrator for when I felt the drawings would translate well to vectors.
Charcoal & watercolour sketch. Wonky pillar alert.
The Colour Palette
Choosing the colour palette was the easiest part of the entire process. It only made sense to use the school colours, and R had included a specific background colour in his brief. He’d even given me the hex code - which made it that much easier for me. The colour palette, in short, had been predetermined from the get go.
I played around with several patterns and different iterations of each, and ended up with a selection I was comfortable with. I showed them to R, and thankfully he liked what I’d done. It being my first pattern commission and all, I’d been worried that I’d strayed too far from the mark.
R chose a pattern from the selection I’d given him, and sent it to the printers. It would take a couple of weeks or so, the printers told him. I hope it turns out ok, I silently prayed to myself. I then pushed it to the back of my mind and went on with life.
The Pattern In The Wild
After an episode with the wretched Influenza B (the toddler), and the frustrating annual affliction that is the haze (the country), R messaged me with some good news. The deskmats had arrived, and they looked good!
Aaaaaahhh to see my pattern out in the wild….
It feels nice.
It really does.