prompt: How can patterns be applied to product design?
Identify some examples of products that make use of 2D and/or 3D patterns. Analyze the patterns used in an attempt to deconstruct them and identify key characteristics. Sometimes you can start a design exploration from a pattern of interest.
Felipe Pantone – Artist
As part of his Subtractive Variability series, Pantone creates his pattern by generating cyan, magenta, and yellow gradients of varying widths and fades rates. He then prints them directly onto aluminum on a flatbed printer while moving the canvas’s position. The resulting overlapped color blocks create almost random color gradients and feel closer to a natural process than a rigid printing processing. For me, the chaos and unpredictability of moving the canvas add a certain level of visual interest and excitement to the work.
Frank Lloyd Wright – Hanna House
Built in 1936, the Hanna house was based upon a hexagonal or honeycomb design; each unit comprised of one module of the comb. Even much of the furniture was custom built to mimic the 6 sided motif. This home is one of the best and earliest uses of Wright’s honeycomb pattern and is also an excellent example of pattern-based architecture.
Twill (Denim aka Twill)
Most of the jeans we wear every day actually make use of an interesting visual pattern that is largely hidden by the fabric, that tends to result in a left or right slanting diagonal weave. 1 – 3 – 1 over and over and over.
