A Brief History of Patterns

Patterns are everywhere: the prints on your shirt, the tiles in a bathroom, and on a thousand other objects around us. This human fascination with creating repeating shapes goes far back, maybe further than you think.

Our ancestors were in fact making patterns long before they developed written language. Early humans in caves scratched rhythmic lines and dots onto walls, expressing something deeply human: our desire to find meaning in repetition and create beauty from order.

Archaeological evidence shows humans have been pattern-makers for at least 100,000 years. Before agriculture, before cities, before most of what we consider "civilization", people were already creating geometric designs.

These early patterns were more than decoration. They carried meaning, like visual identity cards that showed tribal belonging, beliefs, and social position. A pattern could communicate your personal story without words.

As civilizations developed, their patterns grew more sophisticated. Egyptians drew lotus and papyrus motifs to celebrate the spoils of their Nile, but were also already discovering the famous wallpaper groups (which we’ll discuss in a later chapter) and creating abstract patterns from those.

On the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, Greeks created the classic meander pattern you've likely seen before, even if you didn't know its origin.

Different cultures developed distinct pattern "languages" as unique as spoken language, often evolving over time. African wax prints are a great example of such cultural evolution: those vibrant wax print patterns began with Indonesian batik, were processed through European industrial methods, then transformed by African designers into something entirely their own.

In Medieval Europe a famous style of symbols emerged: the Celtic Knot. These intricate interwoven patterns seem to have no beginning or end.

In churches, Gothic rose windows transformed geometric principles into stone and colored glass, creating beauty that was both stunning and mathematically precise.

Asian traditions took different approaches. Take for example the Chinese artists, who created lattice patterns often out of wood, creating a balance of form and backdrop, like Yin and Yang. Both these and the Gothic rose windows are great examples working with negative space, a core concept in this course.

Or take the Seigaiha (blue ocean waves), possibly the most well-known pattern from Japanese origin. It’s a simple pattern of overlapping semicircles that roll across the surface like an sea. With just one repeating shape, it manages to capture both the calm rhythm of water and the feeling of endlessness.

From the early beginnings of Islam, artists pushed pattern-making to extraordinary heights. Religious traditions discouraged realistic representation, so artists channeled their creativity entirely into abstract patterns. The results were geometric masterpieces that still captivate us centuries later.

Below you see some photos I took on a trip to Iran in 2018. These were among many incredible pattern artworks we came across.

These patterns are really best seen as philosophy in visual form, expressing infinity and divine order through mathematical precision. The Alhambra and Istanbul's Blue Mosque are some of humanity's greatest achievements in mathematical art.

These historic patterns use the same underlying mathematical principles that software like Repper uses today to create highly complex designs. Medieval artists were essentially creating what we'd now call algorithms, yet working entirely by hand.

The Industrial Revolution changed pattern-making forever. Previously, patterned fabrics required painstaking hand creation—thread by thread, block print by block print. This made them time-consuming and expensive to produce.

The Jacquard loom, introduced in 1804, was essentially the world's first programmable machine. It used punched cards to automatically weave complex patterns—a direct ancestor of computer programming. This innovation made patterned textiles affordable for ordinary people for the first time.

Pattern books became bestsellers, spreading designs across continents faster than ever before. But human nature kicked in: as machine-made patterns became common, people began craving handmade alternatives. This sparked movements like Arts and Crafts, which emphasized returning to human craftsmanship.

The 20th century became a pattern playground. Art Nouveau embraced flowing, plant-like forms. Art Deco celebrated bold geometry and machine-age aesthetics.

At The Bauhaus school, some artists stripped patterns down further down in search of the fundamental building blocks.

Designers like Alexander Girard proved that geometric patterns didn't have to feel cold or impersonal. His work felt warm and playful, showing that abstract design could retain human personality.

Pop Art brought commercial printing techniques into fine art, blurring the lines between art and commerce.

Today's pattern makers work with tools that would amaze those that came before. Digital software allows experimentation with precision that medieval artists could only dream of. Algorithms generate thousands of variations in seconds, while print-on-demand services let designers test ideas without massive upfront investments.

The internet has created a global design conversation. A designer in Tokyo can draw inspiration from ancient Peruvian textiles, collaborate with someone in Stockholm, and reach customers worldwide from their laptop.

And it’s not just print. The long-running exploration of pulling patterns into the 3rd dimensions continues too, with 3D printing now letting us create patterns with actual depth and texture.

When we zoom out and look at our history of patterns, there are remarkable continuities and dramatic changes. The same creative impulse that drove cave dwellers to scratch patterns into stone still motivate digital designers today. Mathematical principles discovered by Islamic artists centuries ago power contemporary software. The democratization that began with the Industrial Revolution continues through online marketplaces and print-on-demand services.

Whether carved in stone or created in pixels, patterns are the expression of our creativity, personality, and culture.

Let’s dive in and discover the core principles of pattern design, how to work with them and make great designs. I hope you join me on this journey!