Textile Design

Textile design is a creative discipline that transforms a fundamental human material into something expressive, functional, and beautiful. At its heart it involves the development of pattern, colour, surface, and structure through processes of drawing, printing, dyeing, and making, and it sits across fashion, interior design, homeware, and contemporary art. Surface and print design, in particular, demands a sensitivity to how colour, scale, and repeat work in space and on fabric, as well as the technical understanding needed to realise ideas through different printing and production processes.

At Leeds Arts University this three-year full-time programme is delivered at a specialist arts institution with a strong reputation for producing commercially aware creative graduates. The programme is known particularly for surface and print design, and the curriculum reflects that focus, developing your passion for drawing, colour, and materials into the rigorous creative practice of a professional designer. You will study the history and theory of textiles alongside the practical development of your design work, building the contextual understanding that gives your creative decisions meaning.

Leeds Arts University's specialist environment, with dedicated facilities and a focused community of art and design students and staff, provides a supportive and demanding context for creative development.

Textile design graduates from this programme enter careers as pattern designers, surface designers, print designers, textile artists, and creative directors across the fashion, interiors, and lifestyle industries. Graduates work for fashion houses, fabric and wallpaper manufacturers, homeware brands, design studios, and the entertainment industry. Many work as freelance designers, selling repeat patterns and surface designs to clients across multiple sectors.

Others move into retail design, visual merchandising, or trend forecasting. Postgraduate study in textile design, fashion, or design entrepreneurship is a natural route for those who wish to develop their practice or specialism further.