How to become a Textile Designer

Textile designers produce ideas and designs for printed, woven or knitted textiles and many patterned surfaces.

Personal requirements for a Textile Designer

Enjoy artistic and creative activities
Good drawing and visualisation skills
Able to understand and use colour
Interested in pattern and surface decoration
Creative and able to translate ideas into product
Good communication skills
Good problem-solving skills

Education & Training for a Textile Designer

To become a textile designer you usually have to complete a VET qualification. Skills can also be gained through a qualification in design studies, which may be applied to textiles generally. As subjects and prerequisites can vary between institutions, you should contact your chosen institution for further information.You can also become a textile designer by studying textiles or textile design at university. To get into these courses you usually need to gain your Senior Secondary Certificate of Education. Prerequisite subjects, or assumed knowledge, in one or more of English and visual arts are normally required. In addition, applicants are usually required to attend an interview and submit a folio of their recent work. Universities have different prerequisites and some have flexible entry requirements. Contact the institutions you are interested in for more information.

Duties & Tasks of a Textile Designer

Textile designers:

Design and produce original woven, knitted or printed fabrics
Design fashion fabrics for clothing, including jackets, shoes, socks, jeans, hats, bags and lingerie
Design fabrics for homeware items, including chairs, carpets, bed linen and tableware
Design surface patterns for laminates, wallpaper, plastics, tiles, toys and packaging
Make drawings of initial concepts and work with various yarns and fabrics
Make decisions about colour, structure, surface pattern, weight and yarn composition, taking into account the final use of the fabric
Translate designs into marketable fabrics
Use computer-aided design (CAD) systems
Inspect pre-production for colour and quality, and approve these or instruct changes to be made
Produce finished artwork, storyboards and colourways (colour tone work)
Prepare the dispatch of design specifications for production/end use
Liaise with clients, sales staff, buyers and production team, while working to deadlines
Research and gather information about the target market.

Tasks

Undertakes product research and analyses functional, commercial, cultural and aesthetic requirements.
Selects, specifies and recommends functional and aesthetic materials, production methods and finishes for manufacture.
Prepares sketches, diagrams, illustrations, plans, samples and models to communicate design concepts.
Prepares and commissions prototypes and samples.
Negotiates design solutions with clients, management, sales and manufacturing staff.
Details and documents the selected design for production.
Formulates design concepts for jewellery.
Supervises the preparation of patterns, programmes and tooling, and the manufacture process.
Determines the objectives and constraints of the design brief by consulting with clients and stakeholders.

Working conditions for a Textile Designer

Textile designers work within and alongside industries such as fashion, automotive, interior design and technical textiles. They may also work within a studio environment alongside other designers, or as freelance designers working with a client base.

Employment Opportunities for a Textile Designer

Textile designers are employed in a wide range of design and merchandising positions. They are employed as designers by studios, manufacturers or distributors of printed, woven and knitted fabrics. Some go into business as textile designers and some as producers of fabrics working on individual commissions.

Specializations

Textile Designer

Textile designers produce ideas and designs for printed, woven or knitted textiles and many patterned surfaces.

Average age
41 years
Future Growth
Stable
Gender Share
80% female
Average full-time
46 hours
Weekly Pay
Unavailable
Skill level rating
Very high skill
Unemployment
Lower unemployment
Full-Time Share
55% Full-Time
Employment Size
590 workers
Employment by state
ACT: 1.0%
NSW: 39.5%
NT: 0.0%
QLD: 17.7%
SA: 4.9%
TAS: 2.2%
VIC: 24.8%
WA: 9.9%
Age brackets
15-19: 0%
20-24: 3.6%
25-34: 27.6%
35-44: 30.2%
45-54: 23.3%
55-59: 6.6%
60-64: 3.8%
65 and Over: 4.8%
Education level
Advanced Diploma/Diploma: 20%
Bachelor degree: 37.2%
Certificate III/IV: 13.4%
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate: 8.8%
Year 10 and below: 6.1%
Year 11: 1.3%
Year 12: 13.1%