Designer Profiles Features

NICK CROWE
The Pattern Book
@thepatternbook

Aesthetic of the Line? Restored or reworked drawings and graphics curated from historic archives, bookshops and flea markets. Eco-conscious. Vintage. Instructional or educational. Beautiful enough to frame.

Current Bestseller? Typographic Birthday, created from the Condensed Specimen Book from the Boston Type Foundry, an 1860 catalog of typographic characters and elements. Its success indicates the enduring appeal of the art of graphic design.

Personal Favorite? Camera Features. Many of our cards are niche, appealing to obsessed hobbyists and enthusiasts. It sounds geeky, but an important part of any hobby or interest involves reading instruction manuals, which I enjoy doing — they give me a sense of control. This bold, clear image is from a 1946 Contax camera manual.

Surprise Hit? Language of Flowers. We work with several leading galleries and museums, including the Science Museum in London, and some give us exclusive access to their archives. This is from an early 1900s Garden Museum in London postcard. We thought it fit our range well, but had no idea that the Victorian craze of endowing flowers with symbolic meanings would still prove so popular.

Iconic Selection? Chemistry of Birthday Candle. This card was in our very first range 10 years ago. It represents our core design process: Find a stunning graphic, digitally restore, then, if something suggests itself, add a twist (in this case substituting “Birthday Candle” for “Combustion and Illumination”). It’s been a bestseller ever since.

Favorite Color? Verdigris. I am constantly admiring my verdigris-coated copper sink at home. It’s the color of oxidation, of natural processes, of change.

Current Design Obsession? Sometimes an obsession can lead down a rabbit hole from which there’s no escape. I’ve been trying and failing to design a card depicting Swan fountain pens, from early 20th-century print adverts. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

Favorite Flower? I recently climbed a Munro in the Scottish Highlands and discovered a high-altitude landscape carpeted in bright mosses, alpine plants and lichen. They were so beautifully arranged they could have been on display in a Chelsea Flower Show garden.

Favorite Indulgence? 85% cocoa chocolate. Can an indulgence be something you indulge in daily?!