In this research task, I needed to find examples of illustrators who have made designs for flat surfaces and explore how they play with the idea of flatness.
William Morris
One of the most famous wallpaper designers is William Morris. I researched examples of his work. I liked his focus on organic forms. He uses these to create natural overlaps in what are quite complex patterns. The overlaps and line work create a sense of hierarchy whilst still leaving the overall effect flat and suitable for its use as wallpaper.
There is an almost Art Nouveau feel to some of his work with his contrasting use of bold outlines and thinner internal line work. Whilst his colour palettes are in keeping with the natural subject matter, I find the colours a little too muted for my personal taste.
Jeanne McGee
I discovered this artist's work through some structured internet discovery. I really like the way these prints are constructed with individual stamps. It creates a natural sense of randomness and playfulness. At the same time it feels to me that the artist takes care in the placement. In the example above I like the way that the colour darkens towards the bottom of the print. This would be effective in both fabric and ceramic prints.
Megan Carter
Megan is a UK illustrator I found as part of my research. The content of her work feels inspired by William Morris and other Arts and Crafts influences, however the rending style and colour palettes she uses feel much more lively and contemporary.
The aspect I enjoy most about her work is the bold background colours and the space they create between the foreground objects, even when they are tightly packed. Whilst there are not a lot of overlapping elements in the example above, the artist does play with overlapping elements to give a sense of mass to the designs.
Anni Albers
Anni Albers is known predominantly as a textile artist. I enjoy the geometric quality of her work and was interested to see that Christopher Farr Cloth collaborated with the Anni Albers Foundation to create wallpapers inspired by her work. I love that the wallpaper still has a textural quality to it. The colours are vibrant and impactful when used at a large scale like this. The overlapping colours have a natural hierarchy allowing the flat surface to also have a sense of depth.
Lindsay Butterfield
I enjoyed the wallpaper illustrations of Lindsay Butterfield. He plays with representing depth in his work. Some, like the image above, use background colours to add a sense of depth much like atmospheric perspective does in a painting. For other images things are much flatter and he uses line weight to create the sense of depth. This is particularly effective in patterns which have a mono or limited colour palette.
Mary Blair
I have admired the distinctive style of Mary Blair and her contribution to Disney's design language of in the mid 20th century for a long time. It's strong geometric qualities and use of varied, contrasting yet harmonious colour schemes worked well for concept art and designs within the parks.
They have also translated well as flat surface illustrations, where they have been used for packaging as well as clothing. When applied as an illustrative (rather than pattern) the geometric shapes are used to give the impression of structures and objects, yet are rendered in a completely flat way.
This allowed Blair to convey ideas as an impression or inference to objects rather than having to be a literal representation.
Dylan Mierzwinski
My general discovery efforts led me to this artist. I really like her pattern and spot illustrations which have been applied to different flat surfaces including book covers, textiles and merchandise.
Like others in this log, she approaches patterns using organic imagery, mainly botanical but I also liked a pattern she created with butterflies. I really like her use of colour. The image presented here has the cohesion needed to create a range of merchandise, and her other patterns use very bright striking colours that utilise contrast to separate foreground and background. This tends to make her foreground objects the star of the show.
Zoe Ingram
Another artist that I stumbled upon online. I really like her colourful and whimsical patterns. She doesn't really focus on backgrounds, making her subjects the stars of the show. She plays around a lot with the layout of the subjects, often putting them into layouts that feel angular, even geometric in nature. This contrasts with the subjects themselves which are organic and varied. She has applied her patterns to wallpaper, wrapping, and textiles.
References
Artnet (2023) Annie Albers, Artnet.com. Available at: https://www.artnet.com/artists/anni-albers/ (Accessed: 25 May 2023).
Brouwer, L. (2022) The pioneering work of Anni Albers is brought to life in a new fabric collection, House & Garden. Available at: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/anni-albers-christopher-farr-cloth (Accessed: 25 May 2023).
Carter, M. (2023) Megan Carter surface pattern designer, Megan Carter Patterns. Available at: https://www.megancarterpatterns.co.uk/ (Accessed: 25 May 2023).
Chamberlain, J. and Richardson, M. (2022) Magic of Mary Blair. Available at: http://magicofmaryblair.com/ (Accessed: 30 May 2023).
Hambly, B. (2023) Mary Blair, Colour Studies. Available at: https://www.colourstudies.com/blog/2020/4/24/mary-blair (Accessed: 30 May 2023).
Ingram, Z. (2023) Surface pattern - flora & fauna, Zoe Ingram. Available at: https://zoeingram.com/surface-pattern-flora-fauna (Accessed: 30 May 2023).
Nelson, J. (2023) Dylan Mierzwinski, Jennifer Nelson Artists. Available at: https://www.jennifer-nelson-artists.com/dylan-mierzwinski (Accessed: 30 May 2023).
Normal Rockwell Museum (2023) Mary Blair, Illustration History. Available at: https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/mary-blair (Accessed: 30 May 2023).
Victoria and Albert Museum (2023) William Morris and Wallpaper Design · V&A, Victoria and Albert Museum. Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/william-morris-and-wallpaper-design (Accessed: 20 May 2023).
Victoria and Albert Museum (2023) V&A explore the collections, Victoria and Albert Museum. Available at: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?id_person=A11354 (Accessed: 25 May 2023).
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