NewsPrint:A pattern design projectby Hannah KirkbrideI am a digital designer whose prints combine photo collage, digital illustration and 50’s inspired repeats, fusing real world textures with abstract geometry. Taking inspiration from the Festival Pattern Group of the 1950’s, I am interested in the role of the designer in communicating other fields of exploration like history and science.

I developed the NewsPrint project to create new designs in response to current news events. Throughout the project I have covered stories as diverse as the redevelopment of Sheffield’s Park Hill estate, to the EU ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.

A researcher at heart, I begin the design process by selecting a news story and developing mood boards and drawings that capture my interest in that subject. I use market research to help me develop prints for the person who would be interested in that story. This has led me to produce designs for contexts such as outdoors accessories, charity scarves and soft furnishings for males.

To see more designs from the project so far and to read the original news stories, please visit my blog: www.newsprint.org.uk

All images unless otherwise stated©2013 Hannah Kirkbride

Photo of Park Hill by Paolo Margari

Third from top:Floral photograph from The Artful Gardener

Illustration by Pablo Picasso

Black and white design by Lucienne Day