Alluminare Design Challenge

World Class Designer Search

You have chosen Alluminare’s new World Class Designer!
Read the announcement here.

Scroll down to view the 475 home decor patterns that artists worldwide submitted! And check out the TOP TEN Designs, and Lead Design Judge, Christopher Lowell’s commentary here.

Design Junkies, do you ever doodle in patterns?

Want to try your hand at creating fashionable patterns for light fixtures, wallpaper, home fabrics and accessories? Here’s your chance not only to give it a try, but to be recognized as a World-Class Designer!

There’s this fabulous home decor Web site called Alluminare.

Eric and Friday Shamblen started Alluminare in 2001 after Friday discovered how challenging it was to get a custom lighting fixture made for her home. As technology experts working at Cartoon Network in Atlanta, they saw the need to make the complexities of specifying custom products simpler and available over the Internet.

Today Alluminare makes all sorts of customizable products for homes and public spaces. People can go to Alluminare’s site and apply colors to its standard patterns or those from its World Class Designers. Custom-colored home decor designs. Cool, right?

But here’s what’s the coolest. Alluminare stretches the idea of custom design. What I mean is shoppers can play with the scale of patterns too.

This transforms the look of the finished product. Here’s World Class Designer Wagner Compelo’s pattern “Samba” applied to a throw pillow in different colors and scales. (Click on the image for more detail.)

And here’s Libby Unwin’s “Greg” (That’s Greg on the black and white drum shade at the start of this post too.)

See the possibilities? You can spend hours just playing on this site — trust me.

Back to the Challenge. Friday wants to expand Alluminare’s World Class Designer roster. This is where you come in.

**Update: I am thrilled to announce that Emmy Award-winning host, best selling author, and highly respected interior designer, Christopher Lowell is our Lead Design Judge for the Challenge! Read the announcement here.

See the TOP TEN entries chosen by Christopher Lowell, and read his excellent commentary here.

Read the announcement of the Challenge winner here!

The Deadline Has Passed to Submit Entries to this Challenge, but please do scroll down and enjoy the hundreds of entries submitted by artists and designers worldwide.**

You are challenged to create new Alluminare® patterns!

This is a Prize Challenge! The winner will receive:

A $300 gift code to shop at Alluminare.com (good for fabric and wallpaper shipped worldwide, and manufactured goods like light fixtures and throw pillows shipped to the U.S. and Canada.)
Fantastic public recognition on HomeWorkshop.com.
At Alluminare®’s option, the winner will join the ranks of its World Class Designers!!

If named a World Class Designer, your winning design (and possibly future designs) will be presented and marketed on Alluminare’s Web site. Your bio and photo will appear on the site as a World Class Designer!

As a World Class Designer you will earn royalties (paid quarterly) on the sales of your products (5% on manufactured items like pillows and light fixtures and 10% on fabrics and wallpaper). So if your pattern is wonderful like we know it will be, you can earn some money!!

So get thinking and doodling your pattern ideas! Hop over to Alluminare and check out the kinds of patterns that work well.

One aspect you’ll notice right away is these are more defined patterns than with Imageglow, with smooth edges to all design elements and a maximum of four distinct colors. On Alluminare’s site, the patterns are presented in a pre-set colorway that can be easily changed by the customer, but you will submit your designs for the Challenge in what you feel is a stylish, attractive color scheme.

You can:

Create your original design in a computer graphics program like Photoshop, Illustrator or Indesign. Do not use images that require any kind of a licensing fee.

Create your original artwork by drawing, hand painting, etc. on art paper cut to size using the template as a guide.

In either case, Download the Instructions, File Requirements and Design Template Here. Designers ages 18+ please, and limit of six designs may be submitted per person.

When your design is done, upload it as a .jpg file to the Challenge Entry form here.

Describe a bit about what inspired you to create that pattern and why you think it will make an excellent addition to Alluminare’s repertoire.

The deadline for entries is Wednesday, May 19 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. After the entry period, our judges (including Friday) will select the top ten designs as finalists to be voted on by the HomeWorkshop.com community. Voting will go for one week after the finalists are announced. The winning design is the one with the most votes (one vote per person).

Find Alluminare®

on the Web: Alluminare.com
on Twitter – @Alluminare

Want to try an Alluminare product? Alluminare has just introduced FREE Shipping within the continental U.S. on all its products!

So have fun creating your patterns. I know from the last Challenge that we’ve got some world-class artists in our HomeWorkshop.com community. Can’t wait to see what you design!

Alluminare Design Challenge

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Ta-Da! Challenge Results: Monday, June 21, 2010

Next 50 entries (475 total) »

1. Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA	2. Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA
3. Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA	4. Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA
5. onlyhira in Paris, France	6. Andre Cabral in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
7. Katelyn Sides in Sidney, IL USA	8. Mayra Presotto in São Paulo, SP, Brazil
9. J. Lindenberger in Basle	10. Claudia in Spain
11. SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom	12. Eric S. Lumanog in manila Phillipines
13. Andrew Inman in Lawrence, KS, USA	14. Andrew Inman in Lawrence, KS, USA
15. Andrew Inman in Lawrence, KS, USA	16. Megan Palmer in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
17. xris in madrid spain	18. xris in madrid spain
19. allison gregory in austin, texas, usa	20. Eric S. Lumanog in manila Phillipines
21. Orla McGovern in Carlow, Leinster, Ireland	22. Pedro Galán in Madrid, Spain
23. Pedro Galán in Madrid, Spain	24. Pedro Galán in Madrid, Spain
25. Eric S. Lumanog in manila Phillipines	26. Andre Cabral in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
27. SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom	28. SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom
29. SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom	30. SeanSymphony in manchester, Uk, United Kingdom
31. SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom	32. jean-philippe Paumier in Paris, France
33. jean-philippe Paumier in Paris, France	34. Colleen Kyhl in Grapevine, TX, USA
35. Colleen Kyhl in Grapevine, TX, USA	36. Helga in Reykjavik, Iceland
37. Helga in Reykjavik, Iceland	38. denitsa in strasbourg,france
39. denitsa in strasbourg,france	40. denitsa in strasbourg,france
41. denitsa in strasbourg,france	42. denitsa in strasbourg,france
43. denitsa in strasbourg,france	44. Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England
45. Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England	46. Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England
47. Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England	48. Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England
49. Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England	50. Eli Ainoska in Ohrid-/Macedonia

1. From Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA:

Whimsical swirls designed in illustrator with the paint brush tool.

2. From Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA:

Fun doodle flower and swirls with some polka dots designed in illustrator with the paintbrush tool.

3. From Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA:

This beautiful and unique form is designed in illustrator.

4. From Jenna Desai in Santa Clara, CA, USA:

Fun polka dots in various shapes and size designed in illustrator.

5. From onlyhira in Paris, France:

”cubique” is a design created with illustrator based on a hand drawing.
using lines and minimal colors to trigger the eye and the different possibilities of the space.

it can enbody a series of colors.

6. From Andre Cabral in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, Brazil:

light shapes to light up any space

7. From Katelyn Sides in Sidney, IL USA:

This is a fun mod design. I was inspired by clean lines and shapes. Any room would be brought to life and brightened by this design!

8. From Mayra Presotto in São Paulo, SP, Brazil:

Organic lines inspired by water and the refraction of light.

9. From J. Lindenberger in Basle:

Owl pattern

10. From Claudia in Spain:

La mouche _ fly fly voló

11. From SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom:

Inspiration came from seeing a circle from a coffee mug.
Pop art style colours using vibrant colours and seeing how they played against one another. Will easily bring life into a dull atmosphere.

12. From Eric S. Lumanog in manila Phillipines:

This is a Table-cloth which combination of colors of fruits and image of flower and butterfly which is attractive and best for different food combination!

13. From Andrew Inman in Lawrence, KS, USA:

A simple but stimulating pattern.

14. From Andrew Inman in Lawrence, KS, USA:

Lines pattern

15. From Andrew Inman in Lawrence, KS, USA:

Lines pattern

16. From Megan Palmer in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia:

A peacock inspired pattern. Tiles seamlessly; saved as a pattern swatch in Illustrator for your convenience.

17. From xris in madrid spain:

HAPPY VEINS
Life makes your veins happier, longer, naughtier!

18. From xris in madrid spain:

TILE MADE OF X

19. From allison gregory in austin, texas, usa:

I love color, patter, pop…and of course flowers make everyone happy!

20. From Eric S. Lumanog in manila Phillipines:

I enjoy seeing stars circle and lines when i go to sleep with combination of red and yellow sign of inspiration luck and money! Good for pillow and bedsheet! enjoy it!

21. From Orla McGovern in Carlow, Leinster, Ireland:

Lively and retro, great to brighten up any space!

22. From Pedro Galán in Madrid, Spain:

Simply, All you need is Love, version 1A

23. From Pedro Galán in Madrid, Spain:

Simply, All you need is Love, version 1B

24. From Pedro Galán in Madrid, Spain:

Simply, All you need is Love, version 1C

25. From Eric S. Lumanog in manila Phillipines:

Same design but show the true meaning of stary night dreams!
for pillow and bedsheet and sofa cover! enjoy it!

26. From Andre Cabral in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, Brazil:

leaf pattern

27. From SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom:

Starry Skies.
A funky starry cloudless sky.
Can brighten up a room instantly.

28. From SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom:

Brown Leaves blown away..
A wavy pattern I used to draw as a child.
This colour scheme reminds me of autumn.

29. From SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom:

Starry Skies Squared.
Another version of my sratty skies, but a different shape and layout format

30. From SeanSymphony in manchester, Uk, United Kingdom:

Squiggles on the wall.
A quick pattern I drew up the other night, when I was sleepless. 🙂

31. From SeanSymphony in Manchester, Uk, United Kingdom:

Starry skies
Sorry, the first uploaded one was a mistake!! haha 🙂

32. From jean-philippe Paumier in Paris, France:

Enjoy this powerful honey-taste design spreading a vintage lounge atmosphere, reminding radical modern painting.

33. From jean-philippe Paumier in Paris, France:

a second negative version, factory styled.

34. From Colleen Kyhl in Grapevine, TX, USA:

My design for Alluminare is simple, but i think it can create an impact. I was inspired by wind. Wind zig zags as it blows through buildings and people, mixing and overlapping as it does so. My design is versatile and can work with different color combinations. I can see this design making a great wall paper or pillow design. It can work as a trim or a repetitive pattern. Enjoy!

35. From Colleen Kyhl in Grapevine, TX, USA:

I love the symmetry of circles and the contrast of blue, orange and yellow. Ta-Da!

36. From Helga in Reykjavik, Iceland:

This design is inspired by the water molecule and the interaction of them in a water solution. The dark purple circles are oxygen, the light brown circles are hydrogen, and the light green lines are hydrogen bonds. When this pattern is put together, repeated both vertically and horizontally it makes a nice subtle pattern of what looks likes spirals and flowers.

37. From Helga in Reykjavik, Iceland:

This is the same as my other entry, inspired by the interactions of water molecules but with a different color scheme, the pattern of spirals and flowers when repeated is more defined in this color scheme. It is fun to play with colors with this pattern because it really changes the look of the pattern and therefore fun to custom make.

38. From denitsa in strasbourg,france:

dancer’s profile
dynamic ballet inspired figure, a black and white to begin.
variations to come:)

39. From denitsa in strasbourg,france:

dancer’s profile
on a blue and white pattern

40. From denitsa in strasbourg,france:

dancer’s profile
a three colours version of the dancer 🙂

41. From denitsa in strasbourg,france:

and in pattern

42. From denitsa in strasbourg,france:

..dancers again looking on the same side..on dark background 🙂

43. From denitsa in strasbourg,france:

and again dancers pattern on yellow background :)…
simply

44. From Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England:

Collection of the modern lace “Comeback to the Past” – Macro view – Pattern 1

45. From Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England:

Collection of the modern lace “Comeback to the Past” – Repeated pattern – Pattern 1

46. From Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England:

Collection of the modern lace “Comeback to the Past” – Repeated pattern – Pattern 2

47. From Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England:

Collection of the modern lace “Comeback to the Past” – Macro view – Pattern 3

48. From Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England:

Collection of the modern lace “Comeback to the Past” – Repeated pattern – Pattern 3

49. From Elzbieta Gleske-Jarosz in Birmingham, England:

Collection of the modern lace “Comeback to the Past” – Repeated pattern – Pattern 4

50. From Eli Ainoska in Ohrid-/Macedonia:

association of one “metal time “… where gray tones dominate…

Next 50 entries (475 total) »

83 Comments for “Alluminare Design Challenge”

I am excited at the prospect of possibly being chosen!!! I also want to add that being a window fashion designer/ salesperson in Florida, I am hoping to incorporate your lampshades and possibly fabrics into designing more for my customers. I love you website! Do you offer wholesale to other businesses? We do have a store!!! 🙂

Rhonda Clapprood said | May 19th, 2010 at 3:13 pm

Hi Rhonda,

How nice are you? The Challenge is so much fun — I love seeing the designs coming in from around the globe. Some fabulous patterns have been submitted.

I know the folks at Alluminare would love to talk with you about the their products and To-The-Trade programs. Here is a link to their contact information.

Thanks!
–Kathy (HomeWorkshop.com Chief Design Junkie)

Kathy said | May 19th, 2010 at 3:28 pm

Amazing patterms!! I think you should offer them all! Great concept!!!!

Rhonda Clapprood said | May 19th, 2010 at 3:34 pm

Just submitted my design — and in the nick of time, too!!!! 🙂

Kathryn said | May 19th, 2010 at 4:07 pm

Waa-hoo Kathryn! You made it!

Kathy said | May 19th, 2010 at 4:15 pm

To The Trade program!! Inspiring! I have contacted your folks!!! I am proposing incorporating your products and my ideas to the store owner where I design window treatments!

Rhonda Clapprood said | May 19th, 2010 at 4:57 pm

…just uploaded a design to the site! what a great competition to hold! thanks for hosting this!

Chet Slater said | May 19th, 2010 at 7:12 pm

Hi Chet!

Yup — got your entry. Thanks for the note — it’s a fun competition to host. Can’t wait to see how it all works out, but in the meantime it is great exposure for all you talented designers and artists.

Thanks for participating,
–Kathy

Kathy said | May 19th, 2010 at 7:19 pm

Hi,
I submitted four entries for the contest but did not go into detail on my explanations.
I was in a rush to get them uploaded.
Is there any way I can add comments to them?
I know it is late in the game but I don’t want my entries to be excluded because my comments/descriptions are lacking 😀

thanks so much!!
chris

Chris Rossi said | May 19th, 2010 at 10:19 pm

Hi Chris,

Please email your explanation text (quickly) to kathy@homeworkshop.com. Include the Entry number and what the description should be. I will need to get this edited before the deadline at 11:59 pm.

Kathy said | May 19th, 2010 at 10:30 pm

Hi again!
so I seem to be having some problems…ha ha

I just saw my patterns that uploaded and the colors are way off from the original files.
Is there a way for me to re-upload them?

If I upload them now, can you just delete the first 4 that I uploaded?
sorry for the trouble.

I will upload the new ones just in case. I know it is late at night and you may not see this until after the deadline.

Thanks so much for your help!

Chris

Chris Rossi said | May 19th, 2010 at 10:31 pm

Hi Chris,

Did you prepare the files for Web display? Colors can often look very different when displayed on Web browsers than for files that are output for print design for example. Lots of help online about this.

I will delete the first four, then you can also correct your Description (quickly.)

–Kathy

Kathy said | May 19th, 2010 at 10:46 pm

Thanks Kathy!!! 🙂

Chris Rossi said | May 19th, 2010 at 11:31 pm

My descriptions are also lacking. Oh well, too late. I hope I am judged on the art, not the writing skills!! LOL There are so many fantastic entries and talent. Good luck everyone! Last question, if I wanted my designs on lampshades, for example, would you be able to accomplish this?

Rhonda Clapprood said | May 20th, 2010 at 6:06 am

Hi Rhonda,

I’m not sure. Why don’t you run that question by the folks over at Alluminare when you talk with them?

Thanks again for your entries and enthusiasm!
–Kathy

Kathy said | May 20th, 2010 at 4:06 pm

Whew!!! What a whirlwind the past few days has been with all of your wonderful patterns and designs. Hundreds of designs came in over the last week and two even squeaked in at the absolute last minute last night!!

Thanks to all of you for your creativity and energy.

NOW….our panel of fantabulous, expert judges are hard at work narrowing this field. More to come about that soon….

In the meantime, any of you with children, be sure to have them submit a drawing or a painting for our Father’s Day Art Challenge that ends this coming Monday night. Some beautifully touching submissions have come in so far, and 3 randomly-chosen kids will win their artwork on canvas in time for a great Father’s Day gift!

Create on,
–Kathy

Kathy said | May 20th, 2010 at 4:17 pm

Unfortunately, i could´t upload my file in web colors and it looks a bit strage (like fluor colors). it looks totally different….btw,i have the file in the original colors, could we send you the originals? if it´s no possibility, no problem, I understand.

dominique tetzner said | May 21st, 2010 at 3:35 pm

Hi Dominique,

I’m sorry to hear that. I think it would be unfair to do anything after the deadline. Thankfully with Alluminare, the patterns are designed for the customer to have the ability to customize the color scheme. So I suspect the judges will consider the pattern a bit more than the color. But I have learned something to share with all next time.

Thanks so much for participating!
–Kathy

Kathy said | May 21st, 2010 at 11:37 pm

Kathy,
Pls do declare the date of announceing the top ten entries. Egarly waiting for the results! Also, must say a ‘great copitition’ with ‘fantastic outcome’. CONGRATS!

Regards,
Kevat

Kevat Padh said | May 24th, 2010 at 9:08 pm

Hi Kevat,

It’s going to take a little time. I had mentioned in the Challenge post that the Results story would be published on June 14. That may even be pushed back a week later. Our judges are currently busy narrowing the field from the 475 designs — more news about that process soon. Within a few weeks we will announce the “top ten” designs that will go up for public voting. Part of our process this time will be showing the top ten design images as they would look applied to some of the Alluminare products, so that is part of the time line for this Challenge.

Watch the blog for announcements very soon with the dates of the “top ten” announcement, the voting time frame, and the date of the post announcing the winner, and more!

Thanks!
–Kathy

Kathy said | May 24th, 2010 at 10:10 pm

I know that JUNE is going to be a great month….EXCITING!

Rhonda Clapprood said | May 26th, 2010 at 8:13 pm

It will be Rhonda!! Things are moving along well with the preliminary judging. I will be announcing some exciting news and the final time frames for choosing the winner soon!

Thanks to you and all the other talented artists!
–Kathy

Kathy said | May 28th, 2010 at 4:18 pm

[…] and designers from around the globe worked hard to create 475 amazing original patterns for HomeWorkshop.com’s Alluminare Design […]

Christopher Lowell Lead Design Judge for our Alluminare Design Challenge said | June 4th, 2010 at 6:32 pm

Hi Artists!!

Made a BIG announcement today about the judging for this Alluminare Design Challenge! Renowned Interior and Home Products Designer, TV Host and Author, Christopher Lowell is leading our team of design judges!! http://www.homeworkshop.com/2010/06/04/christopher-lowell-lead-design-judge-for-our-alluminare-design-challenge/

The narrowing of entries is going really well. Some great designs are still in the running and Christopher is due to make the announcement of the Top Ten designs–and to kick off the public voting–on Monday, June 14th! Read the post at the link above for more details.

Thanks for your patience. We wanted the best people judging your work.

–Kathy

Kathy said | June 4th, 2010 at 7:16 pm

Design, create, beauty, inspiration, love of life, inner happiness, thankful for finding this site!!!!!…..
I wanted to share a few designs…check my new site and let me know your thoughts! I am very excited about this contest and looking forward to TOMORROW!!! Good luck to EVERYONE!

Rhonda Clapprood said | June 13th, 2010 at 6:38 am

[…] and Independent Graphic Artist and Allluminare World Class Designer, Libby Unwin. They went through 475 submissions from all over the world and by the time I received the final thirty (like the final weeks of American Idol), every […]

Alluminare Design Challenge — Top Ten & Voting with Christopher Lowell! said | June 14th, 2010 at 12:19 am

hi, i just re-checked my designs and it seems some of them are just not set up to repeat seamlessly… is this going to be a desclassifying design? is there a possibility that i send you the correct file in case my design is classified? sorry for my mistake… 🙁
bes regards
karina

karina said | June 14th, 2010 at 11:48 am

Hi Karina,

We asked that designs repeat seamlessly, but one was not disqualified if it did not. We did however disqualify a number of designs that came in with too many colors.

Not sure about yours in particular. Please email me with a note about when you submitted them: kathy@homeworkshop.com

We got such a fabulous response and so many high-quality designs and this Challenge closed to entries on May 19.

Christopher Lowell just announced the TOP TEN designs today, and you can vote for your favorite here: http://www.homeworkshop.com/2010/06/13/alluminare-design-challenge-top-ten-voting-with-christopher-lowell/

Thanks so much, Karina! Keep watch for more design Challenges coming soon!

–Kathy

Kathy said | June 14th, 2010 at 1:34 pm

Thanks everyone, for the great designs and your votes. I’ll announce the winner (and Alluminare’s next World Class Designer) Monday evening (California time). Night all!!

Kathy said | June 21st, 2010 at 12:30 am

[…] tally for the top three was: Jahnvi Thaker 214, Billy Hobbs 184, Renata Rubim 83. Maria Cheek and Nicky Martin were close […]

Alluminare Design Challenge Winner said | June 21st, 2010 at 8:24 pm

I demand a recount! I just know there were hanging chads! HAHAHA!! CONGRATULATIONS TO JAHNVI THAKER! And congrats to all the top ten as well. All the designs were gorgeous!

Maria Cheek said | June 22nd, 2010 at 3:46 am

Maria!

You are so funny. And talented too. I know many people loved your design — great work!!

–Kathy

Kathy said | June 22nd, 2010 at 6:38 am

[…] is clearly a violation of the rules of the Challenge, as stated in the original post and in the Challenge Instructions. We therefore, declare our runner-up, Billy Hobbs, as Winner of […]

Your Own Work said | June 25th, 2010 at 4:45 pm