Get involved!
Each Winter we have welcomed designers from around the world for many years, to help keep their portfolios fresh with Autumn/Winter based trends, inspiration and 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 during the Winter. We are thrilled to share that our trends come from the trend consultancy experts Porter & Brawn!
Here’s what you get with Winter School:
- A variety of tracks starting at just £22 – Beginner , Intermediate, and Advanced
- Two creative briefs (per track) based on Autumn/Winter trends from Porter & Brawn to help you generate new sketches and simple patterns (one brief in weeks 1 & 3)
- Two fun beginner design exercises (per track) to get you out and about and having fun (one exercise in weeks 2 & 4)
- A chance to see your work come alive on giftwrap and fabric thanks to Fashion Formula who will select 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners per track
- Two impressive downloadable high resolution papers/textured backgrounds to use in your projects (per track)
- Exclusive downloadable wallpapers for your desktop, phone and iPad!
- Chances to win a free place on one of our popular Design School modules teaching you all you need to know about the wonderful world of surface pattern design!
- Access to our private Winter School Facebook group where you can connect with other designers participating in this cool event
- Chance to get your work published on the Make it in Design website and across our social networks.
Please note: Beginners will be able to tackle the briefs either on the computer (Illustrator/Photoshop) or traditionally off the computer. The intermediate and advanced creative briefs will be aimed at Illustrator/Photoshop users. Please note that no technical guidance is offered during Winter School.
WHAT does a full brief include?
Here’s a peek at the inside the Winter School briefs from 2019 – 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!
Winter School 2020 Galleries!
Want a sneak peek of what to expect from Winter School 2020? HERE you’ll find all six galleries from Winter 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!
What our students say…
Winter School FAQ
What is Winter School?
Winter School is an exciting global online design/creative challenge that gives you experience working to Autumn/ Winter 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! Winter School helps you to build your portfolio and connect with other designers, and also gives you the opportunity to get your work published!
What are this year’s trends?
To keep things extra exciting and as a surprise for our students, trends are not released until Winter School begins! Simply sign up for whatever track sounds best for you!
Which track is right for me?
Each track is aimed at a different skill level. You can choose from Beginner (aimed at all skill levels, all mediums welcomed); Intermediate (aimed at Photoshop and Illustrator users, we encourage digital pattern making); or Advanced (aimed at Photoshop and Illustrator users, we encourage digital pattern making and design mock-ups).
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?
No! 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 Winter School a taught course?
Winter 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 four online surface pattern e-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!
Winter School Partners
 | We are delighted to be partnering again with the fantastic trend consultants Porter & Brawn and digital textile printing experts Fashion Formula following another successful Summer School in 2019. |
 | Fashion Formula is kindly offering a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize per track: 1st prize: 3 meters of any fabric from their range and 4 sheets of gift wrap (50 x 70 cm each) 2nd prize: 1 meter of any fabric from their range and 2 sheets of gift wrap (50 x 70 cm each) 3rd prize: 2 Fat quarters of any fabric ( 65 x 48 cm) and 1 Sheet of gift wrap (50 x 70 cm each) |
Get involved!
Each Winter we have welcomed designers from around the world for many years, to help keep their portfolios fresh with Autumn/Winter based trends, inspiration and 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 during the Winter. We are thrilled to share that our trends come from the trend consultancy experts Porter & Brawn!
Here’s what you get with Winter School:
- A variety of tracks starting at just £22 – Beginner , Intermediate, and Advanced
- Two creative briefs (per track) based on Autumn/Winter trends from Porter & Brawn to help you generate new sketches and simple patterns (one brief in weeks 1 & 3)
- Two fun beginner design exercises (per track) to get you out and about and having fun (one exercise in weeks 2 & 4)
- A chance to see your work come alive on giftwrap and fabric thanks to Fashion Formula who will select 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners per track
- Two impressive downloadable high resolution papers/textured backgrounds to use in your projects (per track)
- Exclusive downloadable wallpapers for your desktop, phone and iPad!
- Chances to win a free place on one of our popular Design School modules teaching you all you need to know about the wonderful world of surface pattern design!
- Access to our private Winter School Facebook group where you can connect with other designers participating in this cool event
- Chance to get your work published on the Make it in Design website and across our social networks.
Please note: Beginners will be able to tackle the briefs either on the computer (Illustrator/Photoshop) or traditionally off the computer. The intermediate and advanced creative briefs will be aimed at Illustrator/Photoshop users. Please note that no technical guidance is offered during Winter School.
WHAT does a full brief include?
Here’s a peek at the inside the Winter School briefs from 2019 – 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!
Winter School 2020 Galleries!
Want a sneak peek of what to expect from Winter School 2020? HERE you’ll find all six galleries from Winter 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!
What our students say…
Winter School FAQ
What is Winter School?
Winter School is an exciting global online design/creative challenge that gives you experience working to Autumn/ Winter 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! Winter School helps you to build your portfolio and connect with other designers, and also gives you the opportunity to get your work published!
What are this year’s trends?
To keep things extra exciting and as a surprise for our students, trends are not released until Winter School begins! Simply sign up for whatever track sounds best for you!
Which track is right for me?
Each track is aimed at a different skill level. You can choose from Beginner (aimed at all skill levels, all mediums welcomed); Intermediate (aimed at Photoshop and Illustrator users, we encourage digital pattern making); or Advanced (aimed at Photoshop and Illustrator users, we encourage digital pattern making and design mock-ups).
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?
No! 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 Winter School a taught course?
Winter 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 four online surface pattern e-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!
Winter School Partners
| We are delighted to be partnering again with the fantastic trend consultants Porter & Brawn and digital textile printing experts Fashion Formula following another successful Summer School in 2019. |
| Fashion Formula is kindly offering a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize per track: 1st prize: 3 meters of any fabric from their range and 4 sheets of gift wrap (50 x 70 cm each) 2nd prize: 1 meter of any fabric from their range and 2 sheets of gift wrap (50 x 70 cm each) 3rd prize: 2 Fat quarters of any fabric ( 65 x 48 cm) and 1 Sheet of gift wrap (50 x 70 cm each) |
