ADOBE IS HOOKING PATTERN DESIGNERS
I know a lot of my readers are textile designers or design development execs who have teams that work with Photoshop & Illustrator. So many designers have loved the addition of Pattern Preview to the 2021 version of Photoshop. As I wrote in another post, it’s a game changer, but it can’t substitute for skilled design. You still have to know how to create great layouts and finesse them to create a great repeat. I’ll say it again: just because something is in repeat doesn’t make a good design! I find myself using pattern preview when it comes to putting the finishing touches on a layout, but I’ve pretty much built the design before I open up pattern preview to check it. It’s made working with repeats much easier to be sure.
I discussed the potential of Adobe Textile Designer in another post too. I was sort of sad to see it go instead of being improved upon, so I was thrilled to hear that Adobe announced the extension is coming back! I’m curious to see how they improve it. While pattern preview is great, it’s not quite as flexible or easy to edit as the textile designer was. Textile designer’s major issue was that it slowed down everything, otherwise I thought it worked pretty well. Pattern preview is less powerful, but it is smooth and shows you very quickly how your repeat looks. Both add value, so hopefully, they will keep pattern preview when textile designer comes back!
Adobe has outsourced this plug-in project to Aquario Design & Ned Graphics. Want to be informed of the updates along the way or try the beta version? Use this linkto sign up & you’ll also get 25% off when they release the plug-in. If you use Photoshop to create repeat patterns, it’s definitely worth signing up. (Note: the Aquario plug-in was released in 2022. See my post about it here.)
Still working with an old version of Photoshop or Illustrator? I highly recommend the Creative Cloud. It’s a big bite out of our company budget each year, but the return on investment is well worth it. If you upgrade now, you’ll be ready to roll when Aquario Designs launches the rebuilt Textile Designer plug-in. I can’t wait! How about you?
2021 Update: See my post on Adobe’s Pattern Preview feature.
