Create an array of repeated objects.

Patterns are pleasing because they represent order and multitude simultaneously. They provide hope that reason and complexity can coexist. They are to design what assonance is to poetry—rudimentary and repetitive. We are used to seeing patterns, and there are patterns we are used to seeing. Take this one, created in 1896:

Louis Vuitton monogram pattern. Georges Vuitton, 1896.

We’ve all seen this particular pattern enough to know what it is and what it represents. In fact, it represents quality to such a degree that it’s widely copied and counterfeited.

I’ve long admired these patterns created by Doyle Partners for Champion International Corporation. The handmade quality, exquisite colors, and stochastic printing set them apart from other patterns (and design work) of their time.

Patterns from a paper promotion for Champion International Corp. Doyle Partners, 1997.

The Doyle Partners patterns are reminiscent of those found in the pattern treasure trove that is Owen Jone’s Grammar of Ornament. I can’t recommend enough that every designer own a copy of this book.