Who is a textile designer?

Textile designers create two-dimensional designs that can be produced in a design repeat for commercial or artistic use. They work in knit, weave and print, creating designs that may be used in the production of fabrics or textile products.

Textile designers may specialise in soft furnishings or fashion fabrics or work in both areas. Their area of specialism can depend on the organisation for which they work.

They may also work in related fields, especially those where a design repeat is part of the process of production, for example wrapping paper, packaging, greetings cards, ceramics or floor or wall coverings.

Typical work activities include:

making up sets of sample designs;
producing sketches and design ranges for presentation to customers;
liaising with customers to plan and develop designs;
accurately interpreting and representing clients' ideas;
working independently if self-employed or liaising closely with colleagues as part of a small team;
using specialist computer aided design (CAD) software to produce a range of designs;
experimenting with colour, fabric and texture;
keeping up to date with fashion trends in fabric design by reading forecasts in trade magazines and using resources such as TextileWeb;
maintaining up-to-date knowledge of new and developing design.