The online creative event of the year!
CLASS DATES: July 26 – August 22, 2021 (please note submission dates will be later)
We have welcomed thousands of students to Summer School over many years, and we have had the pleasure of helping designers all over the world to keep their summers energised, fun, and filled with creativity!
Each year we partner up with trend leaders to bring you cutting edge trend briefs, designed to help you push your creative boundaries and keep up your design momentum over the summer holidays. We are thrilled to share that our trends come from the trend consultancy experts Porter & Brawn!
Here’s what you get with Summer School:
- A variety of tracks starting at just £22 – Beginner , Intermediate, and Advanced (please see our FAQ’s below for the differences)
- A selection of bundles if you want more than one track – two tracks for £38, or all three tracks for just £49!
- Two beautifully presented trend briefs per track, based on the hottest trends from Porter & Brawn!
- Two creative exercises per track to help get you inspired
- Opportunities to expand your design portfolio and fill it with on-trend pattern work
- Access to our ever-growing online community, perfect for networking, professional advice, design tips, friendships and even future collaborations
- Gorgeous, high-resolution downloads from mock-up photography to desktop and mobile backgrounds!
Not only is Summer School a blast, each track comes with a chance to get your work published on our blog, website and global social platforms. There are also tons of other fantastic prizes to be won, too!
WHAT does a full brief include?
Here’s a peek at the inside the Summer School briefs from 2020 – these briefs include TONS of visual inspiration and creative prompts to help you really dive into the trends and can be up to 10 pages long. We don’t leave you hanging so don’t worry! Complete beginners through to advanced designers take part – it’s all about how you respond to the trend. All briefs come in a beautiful PDF format and are downloadable, printable, and saveable for later use!
Summer School 2020 Galleries!
Want a sneak peek of what to expect from Summer School 2021? Below you’ll find all six galleries from Summer School 2020, and we are so excited to share this AMAZING work with you all!
Each year we LOVE to unite people across the globe that share a passion for pattern design. With three different categories of live briefs, there’s a track to suit everyone’s level of designing and we are thrilled to share the results across each of the three tracks and for each brief as set in 2020.
Prepare to be inspired by the incredible selection of work on show!
Summer School Prizes with Fashion Formula:
Each Summer we team up with Fashion Formula! Alongside the chance to win a free place on an upcoming module from the Make it in Design school, participants also got the chance to see their designs come alive in print courtesy of Fashion Formula!
Fashion Formula offer nine prizes in total, three for each track of Summer School based on work submitted to the two trend briefs:
- 1st prize: 3 meters of any fabric from their range and 2 tea towels
- 2nd prize: 1 meter of any fabric from their range and 1 Tea Towel
- 3rd prize: 2 fat quarters of any fabric ( 65 x 48 cm) and1 Tea Towel
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to see their designs in physical form! Fashion Formula happily ship worldwide too, so there’s a chance for everyone to win!
What our students say…
Summer School FAQ
What is Summer School?
Summer School is an exciting global online design event/creative challenge that gives you experience working to future Spring/Summer trend-inspired briefs. Across four weeks, you will receive two trend-based design briefs and two creative exercises (per track). None of the submissions or challenges are mandatory, but they are all a lot of fun and we’d encourage you to complete them all to make the most of it! Summer School helps you to build your portfolio and connect with other designers, and also gives you the opportunity to get your work published!
Can I still join in even after Summer School has already started?
A big yes! Registration typically closes a couple of weeks after Summer School has started as we know a lot of students like to hear what the trends are before getting started. Our main submission deadline in typically set far ahead so that anyone joining in after the start date will still have plenty of time to catch up.
What are the trends?
To keep things extra exciting and a surprise for our students, trends are not released until Summer School begins! (Check our social media for the reveals). Simply sign up for whatever track sounds best for you!
Which track is right for me?
Each track is aimed at a different skill levels, though a lot of our students like to access all three tracks for the trends and creative inspiration. You can choose from Beginner (aimed at all skill levels, all mediums welcomed); Intermediate (aimed at skilled software users, we encourage design mock-ups); or Advanced (aimed at skilled software users, we encourage digital repeat pattern making). However, if you do see a trend that you want to try on a track outside of your skill level, feel free to sign up for that track and complete the brief in a way that suits you!
Do I have to complete all briefs and exercises?
Not at all! While we would encourage you to try and make the most of this opportunity, if you cannot complete a brief or exercise, please feel free to save them to your computer for a later date. However please note any gallery submission deadlines if you want your work showcased.
Is it possible to do more than one track?
Absolutely! We get many students taking on two or three tracks each year. Again, none of the submissions or exercises are mandatory. We encourage you to take part in all of them, but it is very flexible.
Is Summer School a taught course?
Summer School is not a taught course – it’s an online, four week design event/challenge where you are given professional style design briefs to work to. We do provide a few guidelines in class with preparing your images for the gallery, but it is not one of our in-depth online surface pattern courses. However, if you want to make it as a professional designer, it’s important to have design brief experience, so each track/brief you take on is another addition to your portfolio and is great professional practice!
Summer School Partners:
 | We are delighted to be partnering again with the fantastic trend consultants Porter & Brawn and digital textile printing experts Fashion Formula |
 | Fashion Formula is kindly offering a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize per track:
|
How to register:
Check out our Terms & Conditions. We strongly encourage you to read these before registering, as registering for one or more of our courses acknowledges acceptance of these Terms & Conditions.
Book your place in our shop when it is time for our next Summer School!
The online creative event of the year!
CLASS DATES: July 26 – August 22, 2021 (please note submission dates will be later)
We have welcomed thousands of students to Summer School over many years, and we have had the pleasure of helping designers all over the world to keep their summers energised, fun, and filled with creativity!
Each year we partner up with trend leaders to bring you cutting edge trend briefs, designed to help you push your creative boundaries and keep up your design momentum over the summer holidays. We are thrilled to share that our trends come from the trend consultancy experts Porter & Brawn!
Here’s what you get with Summer School:
- A variety of tracks starting at just £22 – Beginner , Intermediate, and Advanced (please see our FAQ’s below for the differences)
- A selection of bundles if you want more than one track – two tracks for £38, or all three tracks for just £49!
- Two beautifully presented trend briefs per track, based on the hottest trends from Porter & Brawn!
- Two creative exercises per track to help get you inspired
- Opportunities to expand your design portfolio and fill it with on-trend pattern work
- Access to our ever-growing online community, perfect for networking, professional advice, design tips, friendships and even future collaborations
- Gorgeous, high-resolution downloads from mock-up photography to desktop and mobile backgrounds!
Not only is Summer School a blast, each track comes with a chance to get your work published on our blog, website and global social platforms. There are also tons of other fantastic prizes to be won, too!
WHAT does a full brief include?
Here’s a peek at the inside the Summer School briefs from 2020 – these briefs include TONS of visual inspiration and creative prompts to help you really dive into the trends and can be up to 10 pages long. We don’t leave you hanging so don’t worry! Complete beginners through to advanced designers take part – it’s all about how you respond to the trend. All briefs come in a beautiful PDF format and are downloadable, printable, and saveable for later use!
Summer School 2020 Galleries!
Want a sneak peek of what to expect from Summer School 2021? Below you’ll find all six galleries from Summer School 2020, and we are so excited to share this AMAZING work with you all!
Each year we LOVE to unite people across the globe that share a passion for pattern design. With three different categories of live briefs, there’s a track to suit everyone’s level of designing and we are thrilled to share the results across each of the three tracks and for each brief as set in 2020.
Prepare to be inspired by the incredible selection of work on show!
Summer School Prizes with Fashion Formula:
Each Summer we team up with Fashion Formula! Alongside the chance to win a free place on an upcoming module from the Make it in Design school, participants also got the chance to see their designs come alive in print courtesy of Fashion Formula!
Fashion Formula offer nine prizes in total, three for each track of Summer School based on work submitted to the two trend briefs:
- 1st prize: 3 meters of any fabric from their range and 2 tea towels
- 2nd prize: 1 meter of any fabric from their range and 1 Tea Towel
- 3rd prize: 2 fat quarters of any fabric ( 65 x 48 cm) and1 Tea Towel
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to see their designs in physical form! Fashion Formula happily ship worldwide too, so there’s a chance for everyone to win!
What our students say…
Summer School FAQ
What is Summer School?
Summer School is an exciting global online design event/creative challenge that gives you experience working to future Spring/Summer trend-inspired briefs. Across four weeks, you will receive two trend-based design briefs and two creative exercises (per track). None of the submissions or challenges are mandatory, but they are all a lot of fun and we’d encourage you to complete them all to make the most of it! Summer School helps you to build your portfolio and connect with other designers, and also gives you the opportunity to get your work published!
Can I still join in even after Summer School has already started?
A big yes! Registration typically closes a couple of weeks after Summer School has started as we know a lot of students like to hear what the trends are before getting started. Our main submission deadline in typically set far ahead so that anyone joining in after the start date will still have plenty of time to catch up.
What are the trends?
To keep things extra exciting and a surprise for our students, trends are not released until Summer School begins! (Check our social media for the reveals). Simply sign up for whatever track sounds best for you!
Which track is right for me?
Each track is aimed at a different skill levels, though a lot of our students like to access all three tracks for the trends and creative inspiration. You can choose from Beginner (aimed at all skill levels, all mediums welcomed); Intermediate (aimed at skilled software users, we encourage design mock-ups); or Advanced (aimed at skilled software users, we encourage digital repeat pattern making). However, if you do see a trend that you want to try on a track outside of your skill level, feel free to sign up for that track and complete the brief in a way that suits you!
Do I have to complete all briefs and exercises?
Not at all! While we would encourage you to try and make the most of this opportunity, if you cannot complete a brief or exercise, please feel free to save them to your computer for a later date. However please note any gallery submission deadlines if you want your work showcased.
Is it possible to do more than one track?
Absolutely! We get many students taking on two or three tracks each year. Again, none of the submissions or exercises are mandatory. We encourage you to take part in all of them, but it is very flexible.
Is Summer School a taught course?
Summer School is not a taught course – it’s an online, four week design event/challenge where you are given professional style design briefs to work to. We do provide a few guidelines in class with preparing your images for the gallery, but it is not one of our in-depth online surface pattern courses. However, if you want to make it as a professional designer, it’s important to have design brief experience, so each track/brief you take on is another addition to your portfolio and is great professional practice!
Summer School Partners:
| We are delighted to be partnering again with the fantastic trend consultants Porter & Brawn and digital textile printing experts Fashion Formula |
| Fashion Formula is kindly offering a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize per track:
|
How to register:
Check out our Terms & Conditions. We strongly encourage you to read these before registering, as registering for one or more of our courses acknowledges acceptance of these Terms & Conditions.
Book your place in our shop when it is time for our next Summer School!
