One Week, One Prompt: Notes from a Surface Designer

On a snowy Sunday afternoon, I threw on a movie that isn't just enjoyable but inspirational. I ended up rewatching Julie & Julia.

Julie committing to cooking her way through Julia Child’s cookbook made me think of a challenge I decided to take part in next month. Not a cooking challenge (clearly 😅) but a creative challenge!

It’s been a while since I’ve committed to a challenge like this. Truthfully, I’m not usually a fan of them. As a designer, I already work from briefs… sometimes daily… and surface pattern design is often where I go to escape structure, not add more of it!

Pattern design has been my space to explore, follow inspiration and create without rules.

But lately, I haven’t been creating just for me as much as I’d like. I need to change this. So here we go!

The Challenge

Four weeks.

Four weekly prompts.

Four patterns.

To keep things simple (and realistic), I’m limiting the colour palette to black and white with touches of red. No overthinking. No endless tweaking. (I found this approach really worked for me in my last wallpaper collection.)

I’ll be sharing the process here on my blog. The struggles and the moments where I question why I ever thought this was a good idea! 🤦‍♀️

Why This Challenge Works for Me

Daily challenges overwhelm me. They sound great in theory, but real life has other plans for me, especially with after-school activities, work deadlines and everything in between.

But a week per pattern with easy going prompts actually feels doable this time. It is also one that fits with all the ideas that seem to be swirling in my head at the moment.

This isn’t about perfection or productivity. It’s about creating and freeing up space.

Surface Pattern Designer Art Challenge

Surface pattern design has become my creative home, a place where my art, ideas and inspiration get to play and be seen. This challenge isn’t meant to prevent that. It’s simply a nudge. A reason to open my iPad or sketchbook, play with motifs and trust that creating something is always better than waiting for the perfect moment. (I try to wait for that moment far too often to be honest!)

So here’s to February, four pattern's and finding my way through the messy middle in my head.

Interested in joining the challenge? The Hosts @retrobananadesigns, @lifes.peachey, @mollymariepea, @care2c, @papergrapeprints

Surface Pattern Designer Art Challenge.