The Pattern Challenge - My favourites from Winter '25 🎨

I am very excited to reveal 28 of my favourite patterns created during this last edition of the Pattern Challenge. I will also chat a little bit about the challenge in case you're new to my world.

Ever since launching the Pattern Challenge on Instagram back in 2020, I have roughly hosted two editions a year. They have varied between full-on challenges (1 prompt 1 day) and slower ones (1 prompt 3 days). No matter their pace, they have been really popular over the years. Illustrators and surface designers from all around have created some of their best work while taking part. It has been immensely inspiring to see them grow and define their style while doing personal work.

A lot of them have also ended up licensing patterns they created during the challenge to real life brands. It has truly been full circle. It became so popular from the get go that I also created The Pattern Paper - a curated newspaper shining a light on the artists and their work. The Pattern Paper has helped raise money for various charities - it being a non-profit side quest for me.

As I am lacking time and energy this winter (Ah…motherhood…more on this later), I thought it could be really fun to collate 28 of my favourite patterns from this Winter ‘25 Pattern Challenge. So I reached out to the illustrators and asked them a few questions.

So many beautiful and original patterns have been shared…so much so that it was incredibly difficult to pick just one for each prompt. I also wanted my selection to reflect the myriad of styles and interpretations. I hope you enjoy it! Don’t forget to follow them and support their work whenever you can.

Disclaimer: I have purposefully kept all artworks low resolution to ensure nobody is cheeky enough to steal those beautiful patterns. If you like what you’re seeing, reach out directly to the illustrators and work with them or license their work. Support the artists you love, you won’t regret it (we’re a great bunch!).

Day 1: JOY

Kreisundwinkel

• Location: Jork, Germany

• Describe your work: Colourful, bold, cute

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Quilt

Day 2: TAROT

Rachel Carter

• Location: Manchester, UK

• Describe your work: Playful, happy, cute

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Joy

Day 3: PEAKS

Stéphanie Langevin

• Location: Montréal, Qc

• Describe your work: Minimalist, bold and colorful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Tarot

Day 4: MOONLIGHT

Rosie Casey

• Location: Tacoma, WA, USA

• Describe your work: Vintage-inspired, hand drawn, joyful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Quilt

Day 5: SELKIE

Sara Tomate

• Location: Colombia

• Describe your work: Doodle, colorful, fun

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Tarot

Day 6: DREAMS

Laurie Lecou

• Location: Montpellier, France

• Describe your work: Dreamlike, floral, colorful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Tarot

Day 7: BONES

Patrona Patrones

• Location: From Colombia Living in the UAE

• Describe your work: Colorful, expressive, versatile

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Moonlight or Bones (based on the outcome) but I enjoyed all of them, especially the ones that challenged me the most, like Selkie or Slopes.

Day 8: MAPS

Meg Harriet

• Location: Exeter, Devon

• Describe your work: Fun, heartwarming, joyful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Tarot

Day 9: COMET

Erin Hanson

• Location: Austin, Texas

• Describe your work: Vibrant, quirky, crisp

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Wobbly because I decided to also experiment with some animation

Day 10: FROZEN

Carole Hillman

• Location: Southampton, UK

• Describe your work: Playful, fun & whimsical

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Quilt

Day 11: ILLUSION

Aliss Ring

• Location: Surrey, UK

• Describe your work: Colour-obsessed /playful/unserious

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: I loved ‘Radial’. I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do until I was standing outside on a rainy day and noticed the way the water droplets made beautiful ripples in the puddles. Inspired, I decided to draw a water scene with lillypads and koi and just loved the whole process from beginning to end.

Day 12: SECRETS

Yu Yasutake

• Location: Paris, France

• Describe your work: Colourful, naive, playful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Woods

Day 13: UNICORNS

Rosie Caitlin

• Location: Bedfordshire, UK

• Describe your work: Simple, playful, colourful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Joy

Day 14: WOODS

Louise Gyles Design

• Location: Leicester, England

• Describe your work: Colourful, playful, cute

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: I loved the ‘Woods’ prompt as I could take inspiration from walking around my local area and romanticise the British countryside!

Day 15: QUILT

Grace Ann Ekström

• Location: Stockholm, Sweden

• Describe your work: Bold, colorful, whimsical

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: If I absolutely have to pick one I’d say Quilt. Though close runners up were Wood, Radial, Kaleidoscope & Illusion.

Day 16: RADIAL

Priyanka Batra

• Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA

• Describe your work: Playful, Colorful, Whimsical

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Puffs or Frozen

Day 17: STORM

Malika Buttinger

• Location: Leiderdorp, The Netherlands

• Describe your work: Playful, imaginative, vibrant

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Dreams

Day 18: HELLEBORE

Jenny Lula

• Location: Bonn, Germany

• Describe your work: My grandmother's coat

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Hounds

Day 19: PUFFS

Catherine Moakes

• Location: Coventry, UK

• Describe your work: Organic, minimal, poetic

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Hounds

Day 20: HOUNDS

Enikő Katalin Eged

• Location: Budapest, Hungary

• Describe your work: Playful, abstract, illustrative

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Joy and Dreams

Day 21: MUSHROOMS

Liza Isakov

• Location: Winnipeg, Canada

• Describe your work: Joyful, whimsical, vibrant

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Woods

Day 22: JUMBLE

Juani Bengali

• Location: Barcelona, Spain

• Describe your work: Colourful, dynamic, playful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Unicorns

Day 23: SORORITY

Tabby Booth

• Location: Cornwall, UK

• Describe your work: Dark, folky, whimsical

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Bones

Day 24: KALEIDOSCOPE

Anjuli Desai

• Location: London, UK

• Describe your work: Unconventional, colourful, fun

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Kaleidoscope, because it got me using new techniques and was such a groovy prompt!

Day 25: WOBBLY

Melanie Johnsson

• Location: Margate, UK

• Describe your work: Joyful, quirky, modern

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Tarot and Woods

Day 26: SLOPES

Lotta Designs

• Location: East Sussex, UK

• Describe your work: Playful, textured, bright

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Joy

Day 27: FELINE

Zsófia Győrfi

• Location: Budapest, Hungary

• Describe your work: Playful, funny, cute

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Feline and Dreams

Day 28: BOWS

Carla Ellis

• Location: Geelong, Australia

• Describe your work: Colourful, painterly, playful

• Your favourite prompt from this challenge: Hounds

Well done if you have made it to the end! I hope you enjoyed this little selection of wonderfully bright and exciting patterns. If you fancy taking part in the Pattern Challenge, there will be another edition this Summer. Except fun and summery prompts!