Design Structures in Nature as One Source for African Contemporary Textile Design Collections

Abstract

Some pure and abstract designs are always taught to be made by man. Actually such enormous shapes are found in nature, where there are complicated varieties of patterns derived from simple natural structures. Studying on nature on some moments such as volcano blasts, landscape sceneries or inner parts of wood can be a fascinating design done by the creator. Some African textile designs are designed based on these natural design structures. Other design samples can also be taken from animals skins pattern, plants, or natural phenomena such as water and sky. This paper introduces some methods to produce textile design from available objects in our surrounding such as inner parts of trees, landscapes viewed from the top or volcano blasts using as alternative sources. These natural phenomena are also used as an input for a real color adventure for textile design. Snapping photos of these amazing structures, textile designers can design textile fabrics based on these structures for upholstery use.