Digital Textile Design

Ages: 18+
Term: Spring
Length: 10 weeks

Overview

This course has been specially developed to help you explore the creative possibilities of digital textile and surface pattern design across a range of creative disciplines.

To book your place today, simply click Book Now to be taken to AUB's secure online store, where you can complete your booking. You can also sign up to our newsletter for short course updates.

About this course

You’ll be introduced to Adobe Photoshop and guided through the essential tools, techniques, and workflows needed to create a cohesive collection of digital print designs.

Over this immersive 10-week course, you’ll explore the world of colour, pattern, and texture to inform and inspire your design collection. Lessons are structured with step-by-step exercises, supported by a wide range of visual examples to guide you through the course and spark creative ideas.

You’ll have the opportunity to experiment with a wide range of techniques and processes that will help you develop your creative voice and refine your skills in digital textile and surface design. You’ll develop a strong understanding of core design principles such as repeat pattern, scale, placement, colour harmony, and surface translation. These skills are highly transferable and can be applied across multiple design contexts, including fashion textiles, interior surfaces, and product-based design. Your resolved designs will be printed using a sublimation process onto a selection of materials, and you’ll also learn how to visualise your designs in context – understanding how these principles translate across applications such as fashion, interiors, soft furnishings, wallpapers, accessories, ceramics, stationery and framed artworks.

Your tutor, Aston Clowes, holds a degree in Textiles and works at Arts University Bournemouth, where she manages digital print resources and supports students across the BA (Hons) Fashion and BA (Hons) Textiles Design courses.

Researching into current trends, colours, themes and concepts to develop your own design briefs.
Creating mood boards and colour palettes.
Induction to Adobe Photoshop for textiles prints design, these sessions will cover scanning and cleaning up drawings/imagery.
Use a range of different tools and techniques, such as layers, drawing, selection, and editing tools.
Creating motifs.
Placement and engineered prints.
Repeating prints such as Block, Stripe, Mirror, half drop, brick and seamless all over patterns.
Design development.
Format and save designs ready for printing.
Sublimation prints onto a selection of fabric and final designs.
Using Photoshop to visualise the final design in context.

At the end of the course you'll:

Possess the knowledge to confidently use Photoshop tools, techniques, and processes for print and surface design for a wide range of application.
Have the skills and confidence to develop a cohesive collection of digital textiles designs.
Have the ability to pre-visualise your designs and outcome.
Leave the course with a mood board, a collection of digital designs, visualisations of designs in context and swatch samples of your final design’s sublimation printed onto fabrics.
Possess improved artistic skills
Have increased confidence in your own skills and feel inspired
Have boosted creativity and imagination
Possess the foundations to continue creating beyond this course

You can request a certificate to confirm your achievements, providing you've a 100% attendance record. To request a certificate please get in touch with us at academy@aub.ac.uk and confirm your name and the title of course you've completed.

Will I be assessed?

No, there's no formal assessment. As the course progresses, your tutor will measure your overall performance and offer essential guidance and feedback so you know how you're getting on.

What you need to know

Spring term 2027

Wednesday 13 January – 17 March 2027 (10 Wednesday evenings, 18.00–21.00)

Age

Suitable for adults aged 18+.

Level

Beginners or anyone with some experience who want to refresh or develop their skills further.

Experience or qualifications required

None – this is an introductory course. We have no formal academic entry requirements for our short courses.

If you'd like to discuss if this course is suitable for you, get in touch with us: academy@aub.ac.uk or 01202 363222.

£375

Any additional costs

You'll need to provide some basic study equipment. This'll incur an additional cost if you need to purchase it for the course. Refer to the 'What to bring to class' section below for full details.

Course materials included in the price

Any additional materials and resources not listed below will be provided by AUB.

A4 folder for handouts and notes
Sketchbook
A USB (minimum 16 GB)
Notebook and pen/pencil
Drawing materials such as pencils, pens, paints, pastels, coloured paper and glue stick
A selection of images, photographs and/or drawings and ideas to work from

A student stands painting two cherries in a sketch book.

Suggested Suppliers

Information about resourcing specialist materials/consumables that you may need to bring these with you

A flower and a pair of sunglasses rest on a pair of boxes. A stiletto heel shoe and a handbag are sitting in front of another box. The other stiletto heel shoe is on top of one of the boxes.

AUB Academy FAQs – Evening and Weekend and Saturday Art School

If you have any questions about our Evening and Saturday Short Courses, you may find the answers in here.

A person leans in and looks closely at a big display board with assorted pieces of graphic design work.

AUB Academy booking T&Cs

Please read our Terms and Conditions carefully before booking onto our Evening and Weekend courses.

Meet your tutor

Aston Clowes

Technician Demonstrator (Digital Print)

Book your place today

Book now

Textile design gallery

Beyond the course

This could just be the start of your creative journey! After this course, you could further your textile skills with another short course or look to the future and explore our creative qualifications that can prepare you to further your current career, enable you to retrain to an alternative career path or prepare you for future creative arts studies.