How to choose the best prints & patterns for your design collection
Prints in fashion play a vital role in the styling and decor of our lives. From designer clothing to home furnishing textiles and from accessories to bags, prints are available across almost all categories of fashion product and drive our fashion and lifestyle trends. Patterns are not only limited to clothing but also come in several other forms like wall decoration, bedding and curtains.
However often brands and designers struggle to choose the right prints that resonate with the brand language, capture trends and work commercially for them.
Our creative director from pixemix.com says that while choosing the right prints & patterns, “There’s a balancing act we need to do between design, planning and strategy for the best commercial collections ’” Here are 5 ways to do exactly that.
- Clear vision of Collection
The first thing you need in order to choose the right patterns is a clear vision of what you are trying to achieve with them: Do you want to make an impression? Do you want to be subtle? Are you trying to say something? It all depends on your collection and your customer, but the more defined you can be before beginning the process, the better. Once you have outlined what you want from your prints, begin by thinking about which fabrics would work best for your design (and which won’t). Then think about how those prints will be used: in dresses, shirts or jackets? Will they be used as highlights or will they make up the majority of a piece? Will they be used as solids or only in combination with other patterns? Keep these questions in mind throughout the process as it will help keep everything organized and ensure that nothing is missed.
When choosing pattern and print for your collection, consider a few things: will people love them when they see them on hangers but not necessarily when they try them on? Is there a certain group of customers who might not like certain prints but would love others? What color’s are most relevant this season and how do they fit into your overall color palette? Finally, if time allows, show some samples to friends before purchasing large quantities - this way you can get honest feedback and avoid potential missteps!
- Use pleasing color palette
One of the most vital aspects that should be considered while choosing patterns is choosing the right color pallet and planning it based on your skin tones. If you are planning to wear it with white or black clothing, then you can choose bright colors like yellow, orange, light blue or pink etc. On the other hand, if you want to wear it with dark colored cloths then go for dark colored prints like red, green, purple or grey etc. Keep in mind that you should choose prints that are not too overpowering because it can spoil your look or even make you look dull and unattractive if used excessively or wrongly.
- Trends
After deciding on your color pallet you have to select prints according to the current fashion trends. For instance, at present abstract prints are trending across markets, so designers are using them widely in their designs this season. You can also opt for geometric shaped prints and flowers shaped print graphic designs which have become popular lately due to growing demand from customers as well as from designers who are trying hard to meet customer demands by providing them with attractive options rather than sticking always with traditional designs.
- Size Matters
The size of print is also important while choosing patterns because it makes a lot of difference whether large sized print is used on small sized cloths or small sized print is used on large sized cloths.. Large-sized print looks good only when it is used on large-sized cloths otherwise it will look tacky.. Small-sized print looks good only when it is used on small-sized cloths otherwise it will look weird.. So these two things (print size & cloth size) must be combined according to each other while making selections considering all aspects including color shades.. Designers personal style: Keeping your own personal style in mind should also be kept in mind while choosing patterns because not all types of design go well with all types of personality.
- Printing Specification
Eventually printed digital art specifications like techniques, no of screens, printing costs, maximising designs through colourways, etc. impact the final out put and costs. They have to be well thought of and carefully planned to optimise your range and to turn it into a commercial successful project. These aspects directly influence what your customer is going to choose and buy.
So explore and Have fun with planning it right, choosing the right color, trends and scale and the printing specifications. It is important to take risks, and push boundaries with certain basics in mind for crafting the most creative ideas into your prints.
