Wallcovering Collection Development
Overview
Elizabeth Eakins is a textiles and interiors brand with a heavy focus on natural materials and classic patterns. As a part of the Holland and Sherry brand, I was tasked with new patterns and recolors of old patterns on new materials for the Spring 2024 collection release (now launching some time in the Summer or Fall of 2024). This release is meant to bring a refresh to classic loved patterns as well as bring in new options for potential new clients, as well as make it more versatile and accessible by printing on paper rather than grasscloth.
Approach
I employed an iterative design process, creating new digital files from scanned samples of fabrics and rugs to make my patterns and then creating a variety of color combinations to present at the next meeting. The CoO of Eakins and I would go over colors and patterns, tossing the ones we felt wouldn't work and suggesting edits for others that were almost there. I would then go back to the files and make the suggested edits and employ suggested color combinations.
We also designed with particular clients in mind. I was given a list of five interior designers that the Eakins brand wanted to market to. I researched their style and created specific colors of certain patterns that would target their style of interior design. While not all our final patterns and colors catered specifically to these designers, it gave us a jumping off point both for color combinations and for marketing.
The entire process took several months of work, with back and forth meetings narrowing down specific patterns and colors. By the end of the process we had gone from eight different patterns with hundreds of color options to five patterns with six to eight color options each. I kept records of the changes through each process, saving variations of the files and physical copies of the prints in the event we ever want to return to any ideas that did not make it through this round of development.
