How Surface Pattern Design Is Different from Other Types of Design
I was born and raised in Vietnam, where it’s completely normal for women to wear what Westerners might call “pajamas” outside. Growing up, I was surrounded by fabrics full of prints and patterns. My mother loved sewing, so many of my childhood clothes were handmade from patterned fabric.
But for the longest time, I never realized those prints came from a design process. They were just part of life, taken for granted.
Finding Surface Pattern Design
Years later, after the birth of my first child, I began illustrating and slowly discovered the world of surface pattern design. At first, I only worked in Procreate, creating repeats without really knowing much about the industry or professional tools.
That discovery felt eye-opening: patterns weren’t just decoration—they were a creative system, a way to bring illustration into daily life on an endless variety of surfaces.
Learning Graphic Design Skills
Wanting to strengthen my foundation, I took a 10-month graphic design course at a public school. To be honest, the program wasn’t what I had hoped for—it felt surface-level, and I regret parts of it. But it did give me something important: Adobe skills.
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign—these tools were what I had been missing. Suddenly, I could take the ideas I had been sketching in Procreate and give them a more polished, flexible form. Looking back, even though the course wasn’t ideal, it was a turning point: it gave me the technical confidence to pursue surface pattern design more seriously.
How Surface Pattern Design Stands Apart
That’s also when I began to notice how surface pattern design differs from other types of design:
Graphic Design focuses on visual communication for brands, businesses, and campaigns. It’s about delivering a clear message—logos, posters, marketing materials.
Illustration tells stories through standalone images. It’s expressive, personal, and often stands alone as a piece of art.
Fashion Design shapes the silhouette and structure of clothing. It’s about how fabric drapes, cuts, and fits the body.
Surface Pattern Design is unique because it adapts across so many different surfaces:
fabrics and textiles
clothing and accessories
stationery and home goods
packaging and branding
wallpapers and interior spaces
Unlike a logo or a single illustration, a pattern repeats endlessly and quietly integrates into everyday life. It’s design that surrounds people, often unnoticed yet deeply influential in shaping mood and atmosphere.
Where I Stand Today
My path into surface pattern design hasn’t been straightforward. It’s not always easy to explain to those around me why I choose this direction, or why it matters so much to me.
I’ve experimented with many applications—fabric, clothing, stationery, packaging, wallpaper—and struggled to balance it all. These days, I find myself leaning more toward wallpaper, and that focus feels right for me.
But that’s another story I’ll share later.
✨ For now, what matters is this: surface pattern design is not just another branch of design. It’s the art of weaving creativity into the everyday—and that’s why I keep walking this path.
Thanks for reading!
