Introduction: Orla Kiely discusses her design ethos: colour and functionality, quality and graphic control and why practicality is the bottom line. Practice: Orla Kiely traces her career from art school and Royal College to the growth of her label into an international brand. Creating a collection - the fashion year, timing, production and presentation. Inspiration: Greater detail about Orla's sources of inspiration, including artists and Scandinavian design and mid-century modern style, this chapter provides guidance on how to develop a creative eye for colour, shape and form. Colour: Colour is an incredibly powerful element in design, as it is in life. A short-cut to the emotions, it is almost visceral in the way it connects with our moods and feelings. Print: Pattern is powerful and transformative, adding rhythm and movement to the sensory experience of colour and texture. Our shared visual vocabulary means that pattern is often expressive of a particular time, mood or place. It naturally evokes associations. Texture and Form: What texture brings to pattern is an extra dimension of physicality, depth and character. It grounds print in the real material world of touch and weight and volume. Home: Decorating and furnishing a home provides most people with their greatest opportunity to express their tastes and preferences in a substantial and long-lasting way. Creating surroundings that have character and personality is satisfying, rewarding and meaningful.
