Tools for designing
🧠 What you’ll learn
- Useful software that will help you with all things around the pattern-making process
Designing patterns involves more than pattern-making. In the previous chapter we looked at tools and resources for inspiration and curation, here we’ll look at tools for during the design phase itself.
In the first two chapters we already talked about the benefits of using Repper for the pattern-making itself and compared it to some alternatives. So here we’ll talk about everything but the pattern-making itself, and there’s a lot to that as well:
Pre-production:
- Image editing
- Background removal
- Upscaling
Post-production:
- Color palettes
- Presentation
👁️ Looking ahead: Services for promotion, production and selling
These business aspects are big and important topics, but only once we have something to show! We’ll cover tools and services for producing and selling in a dedicated module later in the masterclass.
Image editing
When to use: You have a good source image but you’re not quite happy with it yet. For example, you want to use only a small section (cropping), already know you want to have different colors, or want to remove some unwanted elements.
💡 Tip: Keep in mind that Repper also has cropping and image editing options, plus you can do post-processing of your exported patterns, so you don’t need to make all changes upfront.
Photopea
Photopea is a powerful Photoshop alternative that runs entirely in your browser. It’s free an does not require an account. Can do layers, masks, and much of image editing you may already know from Photoshop and similar tools.
Affinity Photo
If you want a desktop app and don’t mind spending a bit (~$70) on a high quality, professional tool, consider Affinity Photo. It was made by a passionate team and was recently bought by Canva.
Background removal
When to use: You want to make patterns that you can later combine with different backgrounds or textures, or want to print on paper or products without any background color.
Adobe Express
Surprisingly for a company with expensive product plans, Adobe’s background remover is entirely free to use!
Remove.bg
If you want better background removal than the free version from Adobe, consider Remove.bg. This is the thing they do, and they are very good at it.
Upscaling
When to use:
- You have a great source image, but the resolution is low and you want high quality patterns.
- You are using a large source image in Repper, but realize that you want to select a smaller section to repeat, and the resolution is too low for your liking.
Upscayl
It’s not easy finding image upscalers that are both good and free. That’s because they use AI and the processing power for images is costly. Many claim they are free, but are not. I would recommend Upscayl, because they have both actually free and paid options:
Free:
- Create an account and get 10 free credits
- Download the app. Use “Alternative downloads” option for a free Mac version too. (Note that you’ll need a powerful computer and graphics card, as you’ll be doing the upscaling on your device)
Paid:
- Buy credits one-off
- Get an online subscription with more credits
Color palettes
When to use:
- Extract the key colors from your pattern to use in the design of presentation material (see next section)
- Create color palettes from scratch and apply them as Duotone or Tritone effects in Repper (see upcoming chapter [x])
Adobe Color
Again it’s our old friend Adobe coming to the rescue. They offer free color extraction from images, as well as a tool to generate your own color palettes. It’s a little clunky, but the color harmony options help you understand what’s going on.
Coolors.co
This is a great option of you want a more playful way to create color palettes or find inspiration in the millions of palettes others made. Also free.
💡 Tip: Learn the fundamentals of color theory
In a later chapter we’ll go much deeper into the role of color in pattern design. If you are curious, check out our video about color theory and patterns 👉
Presentation
When to use: You’ve made your patterns and want to present them in a way that makes them shine ✨ Sure, you can simply present your pattern as is, but it will look and sell much better if you can show a whole collection or bring your pattern to live on a product.
Canva
Big chance you’ve heard of or are already using Canva. It’s the go-to online tool for creating marketing assets and there is a reason they’ve grown so much over the years. That also means there’s a ton of tutorials on YouTube about how to make the most out of Canva for presentation material.
PlaceIt
PlaceIt is not free, but comprehensive and with high-quality mockups. Compared to searching online for free mockup templates of unknown quality, it will save you a lot of time.
💡 Tip: Repper has 3D mockups built-in
Services like PlaceIt offer hundreds of mockups, but you may not have to leave Repper to get great product presentation. The 3D preview in Repper isn’t just to evaluate your designs, you can also export them for use in your marketing!
💡 Tip: Use print-on-demand previews
If you are planning to use POD services like RedBubble or Zazzle, you can also consider using their product mockups for your marketing material. It’s free and if you are indeed selling there, gives people the most accurate impression of your patterned product.
Make sure to check the rules around using such images. RedBubble is for example quite flexible with it (link).
Phew! This concludes our module on tools and resources. If it was all a bit much or you have trouble seeing how it will all come together, don’t worry. As you continue the masterclass, you may find yourself looking for these tools and come back here.
In the next module, we’ll get to the heart of pattern design: the language of patterns. We’ll discuss the core principles, learn how to think and design with them, and do lots of fun exercises.