This brief is about coming up with some really fresh and new takes on surface patterns for a male send. Challenging the ‘usual’ stripes and spots that we see across products and coming up with innovative designs, which push the designs available for males.
The aim of this brief is to develop a range of patterns suitable for a contemporary male send.
The surface pattern should follow key colour and motif trends for 2012 fashion and interiors.
For this brief we want you to only submit a pattern swatch not the final card or wrap design. However do consider when designing your patterns how successfully they would translate to products.
The pattern could be inspired by:
Spots & Stripes (but with a twist!)
Geo-metrics
Abstract patterns
Popular male motifs such as beer bottles etc.
Experiment with colour combinations, varying scales and placement of motifs etc. Don’t over complicate your pattern and always keep an original working file before going wild with all the different design combinations.
Your colour palette should be suitable for 2012 so do your research into male fashion, interiors and accessories and packaging. Think about bright but commercial colours, which inject fun into your design but also consider using neutral and mid-tones to add sophistication to your pattern.
Be mindful about who your pattern is aimed at or the event and make sure this follows through to your colour palette selection. For example, bold colours are great but use them as accent colours for particular emphasis of your design.
Do your market research and look in the most unlikely places for your inspiration. Be sure to also check out the examples of surface pattern in our current range at M&S. Ask around your male friends, family and colleagues – what design do they want to see on their next beautifully wrapped birthday present?
But most importantly have fun with the brief and challenge yourself. We often find that designing for males can be much much harder than females.
The closing date for Male Pattern submissions is midnight (GMT) Sunday 24th July 2011.
Submission Guidelines:
The format for entries must be a swatch of your pattern submitted as a 500 pixel square jpeg at 72 dpi in RGB. However please retain your original file type i.e. Illustrator/Photoshop at a resolution of at least 300 DPI should yours be selected. Please email all entries in this format (max 5 per entrant) together with a brief description of your work and your username (nick name) to Vic at [email protected]
P.S Don't forget to check out our competition page and design blog page on Facebook for the latest updates.
We will endeavour to upload your designs within 48 hours.
All entries are featured in our on-line Competition Gallery and the winning prize is £200 as well as the possibility of a placement at Tigerprint and your design may even feature in a future range!!!!
Please ensure you read and fully understand the Terms and Conditions of the competition before submitting your entries.
