Always wanted to see your print designs on a garment in Zara? Or Anthropologie? Or Reiss? We explain how mass production sets parameters for print designers so you can create the correct style of work for this specific customer. 

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Written and produced by Erin, Digital Design Media Manager

If you're reading this you're on the path. You want to make a solid living from your surface prints and we congratulate you on that! You've made the decision to create the life you've always dreamed of. 

But we don't want to lie. Making it in this competitive biz takes work and a lot of learning about the print industry and how it operates. The good news is, we've created a course so we can explain everything  in-depth to you. Check out our Comprehensive Business Builder for Surface Designers and sign up for the waitlist right here. 

How to design fabric for high-street fashion brands

So you know that, within the realm of fashion,...

She licenses her adorable creatures around the world and has even launched her own homewares brand. Amanda Joy enjoys a creative life from which she's built a fabulous commercial business. 

My design journey started 8 years ago when I left my corporate job and went back to art school to study visual arts and a diploma in surface design. 

I was feeling like I was wasn't truly "meant" to be in the corporate world.

I have always been creative and my childhood was filled with days of drawing and creating, so it was going back to my roots. 

I love to paint and draw nature using mixed media, but particularly watercolor animals. I love the intricacies of their little faces and giving each of my animals a unique personality. 

I have licensed my work globally across the textile, stationery and homewares industries.

My work has a strong Australian influence and I love to inspire others to bring the essence of nature indoors through my designs.

I mostly...

Wondering if you can share your design on social media once it's sold? Or how to reply to a customer request for a selection link?

As founder of our parent company, Longina Phillips Designs, Longina is our GREATEST source of business knowledge. She's been selling print designs for over 30 years and continues to lead the industry with her savvy, strategic skills.

Three students of our Comprehensive Business Builder for Surface Designers e-course had a burning question for Longina. Read on for her direct reply to them over Zoom (transcribed and repeated here for you lovely blog readers!).

1. Can you post a sold print design to social media?

Some clients do get very upset if you post without their permission and it's better to avoid that argument. It does rattle you because you think, Well I've done all the hard work, I should be able to post it.  But ask for their permission first, or if it's already in the marketplace [in stores etc.] then it's usually fine to go ahead and...

Meet Kate. She's a San-Fran based floral enthusiast, working her way towards full time print design one painting at a time.

It's been quite the journey to get here!

I originally studied fashion design at Northumbria University in the UK and worked in the fashion industry as a designer for about nine years.

I've worked for quite a few brands from Anthropologie to GAP

focusing on womenswear. I loved working with trends and seeing how those trends can be translated into something that works for that particular brand. It's always exciting to see your designs in store!

As far back as I can remember I've always been a painter

and very nearly studied Illustration! Most of my illustrations were fashion-focused which is what led me into the industry.

Working in the fashion industry I always worked very closely with the print designers and loved what they did, so I made the decision to gradually transition over and could not be happier!

As I try out new mediums and use different inspiration...

Words by Erin, Digital Design Media Manager

If you need a new paddling pool to dip your design toe, the SS22 Menswear shows offer a refreshing new place to swim.

Yes, granted, SS22 served up a lot of the looks we’ve come to expect of men's fashion (hello camo and palms), there were a number of newer trends that got us itching to get to work.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ATM Magazine; Zara;  Wataru Tominaga

Example 1: Snapshot

A nod to the nineties vintage look we already know and love, but with a point a difference.  It says vaycay, easy-breezy yet cool. “Photo collages remind us of better times,” Bec says, so there's that sense of nostalgia there, too.

How to design the look:
We are particularly drawn to this Snapshot trend because it is amazingly simple to design for. Plunder your old family travel photos, or go out and take some scenic snaps. Apply a filter or two (we’d recommend Posterize or Soft light or just about anything that gives you...

An accidental discovery of New York's Premier Vision textile trade show set Esti Heshin on the fabric design career path. In this post she tells The Print School about her creative upbringing and the exact stepping stones that lead to her towards her dream design career.

Growing up in NY I have the best memories of my mom taking me shopping on Fifth Avenue on Sundays.

We would go to see the beautifully decorated department stores. She also an artist and loves floral prints and when we'd find a dress with a print we'd analyze it and we were very particular about what we liked. So I think this is actually where my journey began looking back.

After graduating college in 2017, I got an entry-level job at a local graphic design firm.

I photographed products and created catalogs but wound up designing packaging mostly. After about two years I felt I could do much more creative-wise. I always loved fashion and art and really wanted to pursue a job I where I wouldn't count the hours...

Words by: Bec, Creative Director

Reading time: 4 mins

We’re moving into the third year of the pandemic, and we’re fatigued!  History shows that upheavals in society create very large shifts in culture, be it music, art, fashion, and 2022 proves to be no exception.

We want optimism.  We want connection.  And we’re going to go out there and grab life by the horns!  This year is all about positivity.  Read on to see how this will reflect in what we wear and buy.

1. The Return of Parties

We want to go out dancing till the wee hours, we want to celebrate every milestone, every occasion.  

Sidebar: We are SO excited for the return of our trend reports, now called The Print Pattern Forecast. Download the latest pack and get a better, more comprehensive peekaboo at which trends will help to SELL your designs this year. Don't risk getting it wrong... get it RIGHT starting now.

Party-wear needs florals and the return of loud, clashing...

German born–Australian bred, Sue imbues her love of fine art into dense, allover designs aimed at the European market.

Even back [when i arrived in Australia in my teens] I was so into decorative, patterned design but there was no such thing as 'surface pattern design' and I never fit 100 percent into the mold of fine artist.  As I [got older] and started to work in the real world I was drawn more and more to commercial art so studied a certificate in illustration.  The course introduced me to the world of Photoshop and digital art, which I continued to develop my skills in with a certificate in graphic design.

I am totally into flora and fauna

and so I am constantly inspired by the world around me.  I think I am a typical creative, often trying all sorts of new things and ideas.  And I just love to create!

I have done all kinds of work in this industry now

from freelancing internationally, working for a print design studio in LA  and then starting...

Words by Lyndsay, Creative Lead and Senior Designer

Tried to sketch a realistic-looking flower and hated what you created? Flowers have lots of teeny tiny details (roses, in particular, have up to 40 petals) and it's hard to not only include every nuance, but to make it come together in a readable, realistic way.  So how do the pros create such clean and believable hand-drawn blooms?

There's a secret. A special little trick that we use. Because we draw A LOT of blooms (you know it).

It's a one word answer to your woes: simplify. Follow our steps below, and then create the floral artwork you're aiming for.

1. Really look

Pick a flower from your garden (or your neighbour's – we won't tell) and focus on it. Look closely at any veins on the petals and notice the direction they’re going in. Do any of the petals fold over or curl up on themselves? Turn it around in your hand to view it from different angles, and take note of the foreshortening of the petals facing...

I'm a freelance surface pattern designer based in Brisbane.

Before, I was in clinical research and my background is biology. I primarily work in home interiors, designing wallpaper, soft furnishings and cushions. 

I don't think homewares were a conscious choice.  

I developed a style over the years and it seemed to naturally fit more for home textiles than it did for fashion or greeting cards. I remember trying my hand at lettering and I was just terrible! It took a few years of doing different courses and trying things out [to] hone my style and it naturally fit into interiors. I have a general interest in interiors too, so it probably went hand in hand.

It all started seven years ago...

I was an Australian expat in the US after I had my first child. It's a little cliche, but when you're on maternity leave you have time to reassess what will work with your new lifestyle. I came across surface pattern design and I thought, “Of course, it makes sense.” For...