Meet Jenny...

Hi, I'm Jenny and I'm a surface pattern designer from the UK.

Briefly tell us about past work:
I've been passionate about art and design for as long as I can remember and knew my career had to be in this field. I've been through art college and in the arts and crafts retail and distribution wholesale sector for many years, alongside writing for national magazines.

How did you get into surface pattern design?
At the arts university I completed courses in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and photography. I have also completed countless online courses to 'top-up' my skills with various courses in surface pattern design.

How  do you like to work?
After lots of research into current trends and themes, I begin working by hand, sketching out ideas in my sketchbook. I'll start in pencil and then work in black fineliner pen to get the basic design/ motif. I may also work from my own photography. I spend time working on the illustration before scanning it into my computer and then working in Adobe Illustrator (a vector program) to clean up and colour. I like the results Illustrator provides, as I feel it's inline with my clean, bold, bright style and can easily be scaled to any size for the final product. Sometimes I may use a little watercolour techniques (done by hand) and then scanned in, for some added texture to my piece. I also like to make my own brushes and colour palettes within the digital software. Once I have plenty of motifs to work with, I will begin working them up into a pattern swatch, so the design often becomes a seamless repeat, meaning it would be suitable for fabric or wallpaper where the design continuously flows.

It starts to get exciting at this point, as the pattern comes together. I like to use various motifs for interest and a good colour palette always helps the design stand out! Once I have completed the pattern swatch I will then test the repeat to ensure it works. This may show up areas where the pattern needs tweaking, for example if there are gaps in the pattern or if it does not flow as well as it could, so I will go back and alter the pattern swatch as much as required until I am happy with it. I may alter colours and sizes of motifs at this point too!

When I am happy with the main (hero) print, I will then develop ideas for co-ordinate and blender patterns that work alongside the main (hero) design. These may have alternative motifs, varying colours from the colour palette and be at various scales, so the individual surface pattern designs now become a co-ordinating, striking and versatile collection. I most commonly have about six designs in a collection, but sometimes the designs lend themselves to just three or even a dozen designs!

What has been your favourite collection to work on?
Usually it's my latest one! It's always exciting to see individual motifs working as a seamless pattern.

What part of the process do you enjoy the most?
Seeing my designs come to life on actual products! I also like to see my designs on 'mock ups' (which I create myself from scratch) as that gives me (or art directors) a good idea of how the designs will look before having the expense of going to print on the actual physical product.

What inspires you?
I am inspired by everything around me. Nature, wildlife, flowers, animals and more. I can just be watching television or 'out and about' when an idea springs to mind and I quickly jot it down in my sketchbook! I never know when an idea will surface, sometimes it's even been in the middle of the night!

What other hobbies do you enjoy?
I like pilates and yoga, crochet and growing vegetables. I also enjoy learning new things, so can often be found online taking a class or two.

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