J.L.W Illustration: ABSPD FEATURED DESIGNER

Wednesday 10 October 2012

ABSPD FEATURED DESIGNER - Emma Frances Designs

Hello All, and welcome back, I trust you all enjoyed yesterdays feature??

Well here is todays, and the lovely Emma has allowed us to delve into her world for a little while. Emma runs under the name 'Emma Frances Designs', and her work is so elegant and beautiful, I am so pleased to be able to share it with you.

Can you tell me a little bit about your background in Surface Pattern Design?

I have loved drawing and making things from a very young age and this stayed with me through school, college and university. I studied Art and Design and Textile Design both at GCSE and A level and loved every minute of it, so chose to do a degree in Textile Design aswell. I have only recently graduated so am just starting out into the world of surface pattern design, but I love that there is no limit and you can let your creativity shine and be free with your own style.

What made you apply for the ABSPD course and what have you gained from it so far?

I knew I wanted to take the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design course as soon as I heard about it. I knew how to design but wanted to expand my skills and learn about the business side of surface pattern design. I admired Rachael Taylor and her work and she was a big inspiration in my final university project, so this was another pulling factor towards this course.

I have gained so much valuable information from this course, I can’t praise it enough! It has helped me become a better designer by realising I can pull inspiration from everything around me. As well as being part of such a lovely community of designers, who praise each others success and pick each other up when there are rejections. It can often feel like you’re alone as a designer, working from home, so it was nice to meet others who love patterns as much as I do!

Can you describe your style and what methods you use to create your designs?

I haven’t quite defined my style yet, I like to try out lots of different styles from very loose, continuous drawings to graphic illustrations. I do like to hand draw my patterns the majority of the time though, whether that is on paper and scanning it in or using my graphics tablet. I do tend to like the unusual though and several of my art or textile projects at school have been based around bizarre themes. A couple of examples, Lord of the Rings theme and Anime theme (Japanese style comic style cartoons), you can see these on my online portfolio -http://www.behance.net/EmmaFrancesDesign/frame .

I do like to push the boat out sometimes and explore subject like I mentioned above but have recently been focusing on florals and more marketable topics.

Where do you see your work progressing in the next few years, and what industry would you say you are aiming at?

At the moment I am freelancing as well as expanding my portfolio quite substantially before contacting studios and companies to see if they are interested in my work. As for long term I would love to have my own brand and sell my own products. It is such an exciting industry to be in so I’m looking forward to the future and can’t wait to see what it throws at me.

Enjoy some visual pleasure: