I really love strong geometric simple shapes and bold prints, however I don’t necessarily want these covering a whole room or all over a sofa in my house. I also realised that large, simple shapes can be easily replicated by others, even if accidentally. So I started to look for ways to make these bold shapes that I know and love slightly different, without overcomplicating or cluttering the designs. Here are the four steps to my process:

Finding the right combination of shapes – I love to go through holiday photos. I find a wealth of inspiration from far flung streets, the market stands, the food and the people. I generally scale my chosen image up and then start to draw the shapes I see within.

Texture Time – Roughly once a month I get messy. I collect various objects around the house that I think will make some interesting prints and I paint away. I find I get the best results when I’m left to my own devices, with some hypnotic beats coming through my speakers and no distractions, I usually stick to black and white as I find this gives me the best detail when I pull the image into Photoshop.

Digitise – I import the images into the computer and then spend hours, colouring, cutting, overlaying and arranging the shape and texture combinations on the screen, until I get a few combinations that I really like. I then re-colour and play with different colour ways to help really pull a collection together and let it pop. I generally try and leave it 24hrs before looking at it again. This allows me to view the work with fresh eyes when I re-open the file and assess it. Sometimes I just start again, other times I’m happy with it!

Test prints – I do this on paper first (A4 and A3) to check I am happy with the scale and get an idea of whether or not the design will fit with its intended product. Then I will send files to the printers for samples before getting larger amounts ordered. This takes a little longer, and means a bit more in the way of upfront costs, but it allows me to be sure that I am happy with the final product before ordering a larger amount.

I am always happy to talk about my design process and share tips. I love using Illustrator and the Image Trace tool, but in the end, I’m still finding my own way and style. However, I suppose that won’t stop, otherwise I won't be developing as a designer.

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