Textile Designer

Summary

Textile designers produce ideas and designs for printed, woven or knitted textiles and many patterned surfaces.

Duties & Tasks

Textile designers may perform the following tasks:

  • design and produce original woven, knitted or printed fabrics
  • design fashion fabrics for clothing, including jackets, shoes, socks, jeans, hats, bags and lingerie
  • design fabrics for homeware items, including chairs, carpets, bed linen and tableware
  • design surface patterns for laminates, wallpaper, plastics, tiles, toys and packaging
  • make drawings of initial concepts and work with various yarns and fabrics
  • make decisions about colour, structure, surface pattern, weight and yarn composition, taking into account the final use of the fabric
  • translate designs into marketable fabrics
  • use Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems
  • inspect pre-production for colour and quality, and approve these or instruct changes to be made
  • produce finished artwork, storyboards and colourways (colour tone work)
  • prepare the dispatch of design specifications for production/end use
  • liaise with clients, sales staff, buyers and production team, while working to deadlines
  • research and gather information about the target market.

Working Conditions

Textile designers work within and alongside industries such as fashion, automotive, interior design and technical textiles. They may also work within a studio environment alongside other designers, or as freelance designers working with a client base.

Personal Requirements

  • enjoy artistic and creative activities
  • good drawing and visualisation skills
  • able to understand and use colour
  • interested in pattern and surface decoration
  • creative and able to translate ideas into product
  • good communication skills
  • good problem-solving skills.

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