How to Make a Pattern Swatch Using Illustrator

Have you ever wondered how repeating patterns are created well I have just recently been taught how to do this. It involves using illustrator and creating your own swatch with a pattern on it. Below are some examples of swatches that I have recently made.

 

Once making these swatches, you are able to fill an object and a repeating pattern will occur. Below is are examples:

 

So you are probably wondering how to create these in illustrator so I am going to show you how. It is quite easy!

Step 1: Design the imagery that you would like your pattern to consist of. I decided to have a little baby along with a bottle, soother and rattle.

Step 2: Create a box that is 3 inch x 3 inch and place your imagery on the square the way you would like. Have pieces hanging over the edge of the square so you can cut them off and place them on the other side of the square so that each swatch will interact with each other and make a better pattern.

Step 3: Before cutting your image make sure that you change all of your outlines to "Outline Stroke". To do this select your objects, then got to Object > Path > Outline Stroke.

This is where the tricky part comes in. You have to know cut the images into pieces so you can place them on all sides of the square and then when you repeat the square it will line up and create a seamless pattern. Your goal is to have a square that looks like this:

Step 4: So to start of select the rattle and copy (command C) and paste in front (command F) and then do this to the square and then move the square to the front. By right clicking Arrange > Bring to Front

Step 5: Then select both the rattle and square.

Step 6: Next you are going cut the rattle in half to do this go to Window > Pathfinder

Then you want to crop the image so that half the rattle will be left.

Step 7: After hitting the crop button you will be left with half the rattle with an invisible square around it. To get rid of this use the Direct Selection tool (White Arrow-shortcut A.) Click one of the corners and hit delete twice.

 The image to the right is what the rattle should look like when selected. Make sure that you keep the rattle on the same plane because if you move it, the two rattles won't line up properly. So move the half of the rattle to the right of the square while holding shift.

Step 8: You are going to repeat steps 4 and 5 again. Once the square is in front you want to move the square so that it is covering the other half of the rattle. To do so use the white arrow and drag the left size of the square to the right.

Select the rattle and square and repeat steps 6 and 7.


Step 9: Once you have both halves of the rattle you can delete the original rattle. Next you want to place each half of the rattle so that it lines up to the outer edge of the square. The easiest way do to this is make sure that each half of the rattle is on the square and use the Align tool to make sure they align to the left and right of the square. Window > Align

Your image should look like this when completed step 9.

Step 10: Next you are going to repeat the steps to crop the image of the baby into 4 different pieces. When completed you should have these four pieces.

Make sure before cropping you move the square so that it covers the part that you need to crop.


Step 11: Now align the pieces of the baby to the respected corners using the Align tools.

Step 12: Once this is completed select all of the objects and then drag the square into your swatch library: Window > Swathces 

Your new swatch is now in this panel. Now all you have to do is create an object and fill it will your pattern swatch.

Now that you know how to make patterns, you can have a lot of fun with it. Try to make simple patterns and then try more complex patterns.

April Greiman

     Recently I did a project on April Greiman a well known graphic designer. I had personally never heard of Greiman but after researching her design background, I have become very interested and discovered that she is quite an interesting character.

     Greiman studied at the Kansas City Art Institute where she learned the basics of design. After this she travelled to Switzerland and studied at the Basel School of Design. This is where Greiman was taught by Armin Hoffman and Wolfgang Weingart. Weingart was part of the "New Wave", which is a movement that began breaking all of the rules of design and started the post-modernist era.

Since Greiman was part of the post-mordernism era, she began to focusing on the technology that was available at the time, which was the first version of the Macintosh. Greiman was not afraid of the technology like most designers but instead embraced the digital world. This is why she is known as a pioneer of the digital world. With this said Greiman is a very unique person and created work that was very different from most designers. She explored typographic meaning and the two-dimensional space of a page to make it three-dimensional or four-dimensional, a continuum of time and space.

     Today Greiman is working at her own studio, Made in Space located in Los Angeles and has recently just completed designing her spa, Miracle Manor, located in Desert Hot Springs, California. Greiman has always been inspired by the desert and frequently uses it for inspiration. Greiman says, “The desert is its own educational vehicle. While most processes occur at an invisible or microscopic level, the desert reveals the evolution in its very existence. I felt as if, for the first time, my eyes were wide open to the process of evolution, to growth, to change.”

Blow are links to view some of Greiman's work"

Click here to visit Greiman's website

Click here to see Greiman's photography

Click here  to visit Greiman's blog

Click here to visit Greiman's studio, Made in Space

Exteme Architecture

I have always been interested in architecture my entire life. I love looking at buildings and just seeing the design of it. All of the windows, curves and angles within a building. 

Below is a video of a spectacular house that is a dome. It is amazing how the design of the house flows and follows all of the curves of the circle. I love the open space that is created and the inside of the house is just as spectacular as the outside.

The house below is so cool. I have always imagined what a house would look like upside down. I would really like to visit this house which is an exhibit located in Trassenheide, Germany. This upside down house was created by Klaudiusz Golos and Sebastion Mikuciuk. This house is clearly unliveable but is truly amazing. Some people that have visited this house have reportedly felt dizzy and disoriented. All of the main furniture of the house are accurately placed but the only difference is that everything is upside down.

Top 8 Websites you should visit

These are the Top 8 websites that I like to visit to help me when doing work and also for inspiration. They vary from package design, fonts, tutorials and logos. Basically anything that I will find useful when doing projects.

The first two websites have great examples of package design. I love to visit this site for inspiration when I am beginning a project. There are thousands of designs throughout this website that have blurbs underneath to describe a little bit about the design.

1. The Dieline

2. Lovely Package

The next set of websites are of logos. Have you ever been working on a project and need a free vector of a logo just for the design, well the two websites below have exactly that. It is so easy just to go to these websites and find the logo you are looking for and download them for free.

3. Logos

4. Brands of the World

Finding the right font for a design is always the hardest part for a designer. Below are two websites where you can find a whole bunch of typefaces. Girls Who Wears Glasses has a variety of fonts that are free while Font Diner has fonts that you have to pay for.

5. Font Diner

6. Girls Who Wear Glasses

If you are new to either Photoshop or Illustrator you may want some tutorials to help learn the programs. Below are two websites that have a variety of tutorials that are great.

7. psd tuts+

8. vector tuts+

Unique and Creative Logos

A Logo is a symbol or emblem commonly used by companies and individuals to aid and promote instant recognition. Below are some logos that are very unique and creative. They are all great examples of logos that will catch peoples attention and stand on their own and be recognized in the future.

CFO Cycling Team Logo
designed by Nadir Balcikli

This logo is very clever since the designer was able to take the letters CFO and create a bicycle. Even though you clearly see the person riding the bicycle you can still see the letters. This logo would definitely grab the attention of a person passing buy and they would remember it.

 Wiesinger Music Logo
designed by NEXQUNYX

This logo is very stylish and simple yet gets across to the viewer that the company has something to do with music. I love how the designer was able to make the "W" and "M" look like piano keys but at the same time you can still clearly see the "W" and "M". The black and white really works with the style of logo to keep it clean and sophisticated like musical instruments are.

Ant Logo
designed by Alberto William

The simplest logos are always the ones that work the best to catch peoples attention. The designer was able to take the word "ant"and make it into an actual ant. When I look at this logo I first see the word "ant" and then I actually see the object itself.

Killed Production Logo
designed by Sean Heisler

A type solution is always the best solution for logos. The way the designer has the "i" laying on its side like it has been killed is quite clever. You still read the word "killed" but it ads more to the word. I actually begin to think of a person being killed.

Pause Logo
designed by Volkan Ek?i

Again this is another excellent example of a type solution. Instead of using the letter "u"the designer uses the universal "pause" symbol. Even though the letter "u" is not used you still read the word perfectly fine.

Spartan Golf Club Logo
designed by Richard Fonteneau

This is a brilliant logo, probably one of my favourite logos that I have ever seen. I love that you initially see the Spartan but as you look closer and realize that the logo is for a Golf Club, you see the golfer. It is so clever how golfer was incorporated into the face of the Spartan.

Twins Logo
designed by Action Designer

This logo was created for two brothers that were born on the same day so Twins was a suitable name for them. I love the way that the number 2 was turned and used as the letter "N". Twins of course means two people so by using the number 2 it just emphasizes the meaning.
 

Mister Cutts Logo
designed by Tabitha Kristen

This is a very cool and clever design. The designer was able to take scissors and make it into a face. When I look at this logo I relate it to a barber shop due to the moustache created from the blades of the scissors. 

Bob's House for Dogs
designed by Staci Paul

This logo put a smile on my face when I first saw it.  I love the simple line to create the top of the house and then under it is the letter "B," to show Bob's House. If you look closer you will see that the letter "B" is actually shaped like a dogs head. I just love how the designer was able to achieve this.

The Art of Typography

While working on a project last semester on Hermann Zapf, I came across a video. I found it so interesting since Zapf walks through the art of typography. This truly shows the art and craftsmanship of calligraphy. It is amazing how Zapf can take a pencil and create such beautiful letters with one simple stroke.

Click here to see the video