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Textile Designer

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

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.

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

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

Interest Area

EDUCATION & TRAINING

To become a textile designer you usually have to complete a VOC qualification in textile design and development, textile arts or fashion and textile design. Skills can also be gained through a qualification in design studies, which may be applied to textiles generally. As subjects and prerequisites can vary between institutions, you should contact your chosen institution for further information.

You can also become a textile designer by studying textiles or textile design at university. To get into these courses you usually need to gain your HSC/ACT Year 12. Prerequisite subjects, or assumed knowledge, in one or more of English and visual arts are normally required. In addition, applicants are usually required to attend an interview and submit a folio of their recent work. A number of universities in Australia offer degrees in textile design.

Universities have different prerequisites and some have flexible entry requirements. Contact the universities you are interested in for more information as requirements may change.

Additional Information

After gaining some industry experience, graduates may qualify for full membership of the Design Institute of Australia. Student, graduate and associate membership may also be available prior to meeting the requirements for full membership.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Textile designers are employed in a wide range of design and merchandising positions. They are employed as designers by studios, manufacturers or distributors of printed, woven and knitted fabrics. Some go into business as textile designers and some as producers of fabrics working on individual commissions.