What is Surface Design?

What is Surface Design?

Surface design is the creation of patterns, illustrations, colours and textures for surfaces such as wallpaper, fabric, ceramics and packaging. It brings visual character to everyday objects and interiors, and can also communicate information.

Surface design can take on a variety of forms, due to the broad nature of the category. Some common real-world examples of surface design include:

Examples of surface design in everyday life

Examples of surface design:	Range of examples:
Cards	Playing cards, birthday cards, Christmas cards, get well soon cards, anniversary cards, Valentine’s Day cards.
Wrapping Paper	Gift wrapping paper, Christmas wrapping paper, custom wrapping paper.
Fabric	Graphic tees, pillowcases, duvets & bed linen.
Wall Art	LED typography, graffiti, paintings.
Scrapbooking	Scrapbooking.
Book Covers	Comic book covers, novel covers, children’s book covers.
Editorials	In newspapers, magazines and so on.
Home Decor	Tile design, countertops, signs, doormats, crockery, couches, chairs, pillowcases, and so on.
Protective Cases	For phones, tablets & laptops.
Children’s Apparel	Onesies, beanies, gloves, shoes, backpacks/satchels, and so on.
Mugs & Cups	Featuring illustrations, characters or pattern design.
Magazines	Covers, page spreads, typography, illustration, photography, layout.
Signs	Notice signs, safety instruction signs, danger signs, warning signs, caution signs.
Wraps	Vehicle wraps & vinyl wraps, car decals, vehicle branding, vinyl stickers.
Covers	DVD Covers, album covers, couch covers, chair covers, steering wheel covers, school book covers, car seat covers.

And these are just some examples.

Surface design is all around us, whether it’s woven products, ceramics, wallpapers, t-shirts, or other surfaces that exhibit designs using a variety of mediums.

Surface design can be decorative, functional or both. A wallpaper pattern can set the mood of a room, while a sign uses colour, symbols and lettering to communicate a clear message. 

This sort of functional surface design can take on the form of signs, like safety and warning signs, or even infographics, maps, and other information printed onto surfaces like metal, perspex, card, wood and other materials.

From an artistic perspective, a surface provides a blank canvas for an artist to get inspired and create something that is visually enticing!

Surface design techniques and materials

Often, in the case of wallpapers and printable products, surface design can take on the form of bold patterns, striking colours and layers of geometric and organic forms.

Each artist treats a surface differently working with a wide variety of mediums such as watercolour, ink, die-cutting, oil paint, pencil illustration, acrylic and pastel (to name a few).

This choice of medium will relate to a designer’s preferences, skills and approach to the kind of design they will create and apply to a surface.

In addition, every artist and designer has their own style, and intent for a specific surface design. Some surface designs will be primarily informative, whilst others might be more artistic and conceptual. 

Surface designers combine geometric or organic shapes, vibrant colours, layering, and positive and negative space. Their work can explore nature, urban life or social themes, giving an everyday surface a distinctive visual identity.

Surface design for interiors with Robin Sprong

The artists we collaborate with range from far and wide, with local names to international brands & collectives.

Each artist or designer has their own style, exhibiting themes and sentiments that are important to them, and utilising a variety of mediums to design engaging wallpapers, vinyl wraps, fine art prints and stickers for corporate and residential spaces. 

We provide custom services, managing the process from sourcing imagery to match the vision for your space, to the creation of your design on your choice of surface with the right dimensions.

We even provide seamless installation to bring your space to life the way you intended.

Visit our wallpaper collections to get some inspiration for how to convey important information or striking graphics on different surfaces.

Our range also includes plenty of styles & themes to keep in mind when designing a specific surface in a corporate, retail or residential space.

Or select from our product range to find eye-catching design for printing on a variety of materials, like plastic-backed or fabric-backed vinyl, or even in the form of decorative wall tiles.

Contact Robin Sprong to discuss a surface design for your home, retail space or workplace.