Tartan Design Feedback

[TheOfficialBren]

Thank you, my friends, for your kind words and your feedback. I know that this is one of the best places to come for opinions with regard to all things tartan.

The first one was my first attempt at designing a tartan. Designs B and C were my attempts to play with more intricate designs.

Do any of you gentlemen think that pleating any of these to the stripe would look good? I've only owned kilts pleated to the strip and I quite like it.

Thank you very much, gentlemen.

EDITED TO ADD:
Am I getting the gist of tartan design? Should I modify either A or C in any way or leave them as-is? I might want to have the final design woven with a large sett. On Scotweb's tartan designer each sett is about 7". Not sure if I want to go larger or keep the current size. Thoughts? Thank you.

[Kiltedjohn]

I voted for C. Can't make any learned comments (!), but I found the balance of colours very attractive.

[marypenny]

Design A, once I saw it in your new career move as a tartoonist. The white give it a bit of a pop.
Nice. Very nice.

[Couper]

Sorry, I never vote in a poll where votes are made public.

[uncle remus]

design a i think it looks the best. my thought was it is the tartan i would want to wear after the wedding as well

[Ntaker]

I am kind of partial to C.

[Bluescelt]

It's C for me.

[OC Richard]

Am I getting the gist of tartan design?

Seems to me you're doing just fine.

Peter is the one to ask though. He's a weaver and has examined many early tartans in person.

I'm just an American learning as best I can from secondary sources.

So take this with a grain of salt, but in my opinion tartan design is design, and good tartan design is good design. Study 2-dimensional design at any college and it's all clear, basic stuff like The Rule Of 3rds, The Golden Mean, and so on. Attractive tartans, and ancient Greek buildings, and traditional landscape paintings, and the phone you hold in your hand are all designed using the same principles.

Now, weavers might not realise that when they're designing a tartan the proportions they're using are universal, but it stands out like a sore thumb when people go about designing tartans on their computer, and come up with clumsy ill-proportioned designs which violate these universals.

Your designs are rather attenuated; any more and they might be too diffuse.

You could, if you wish, experiment with bulking up your designs a bit, and see if they become a bit stronger. I think your designs are fine as they stand, and a relief to the eye after seeing so many modern designs which are too chunky and congested.

What might not be as universal are some of the traditional tartan design motifs one sees over and over such as three stripes going narrow-broad-narrow or the reverse, or four stripes going narrow-broad-broad-narrow or the reverse.

BTW a fun way to experiment with pure design is to limit yourself to two colours, and see how attractive and interesting you can make it. Many's the weak design that looks attractive due to effective use of colour.

Here's a couple of my 2-colour experiments

[figheadair]

I remain in favour of design 1. I'm assuming that the dark shade if K and not T. Try making the G pivot 6 and the R gurding the B pivot 4.