A Case Study On Patterns That Recursively Build Through Permutation

Name

Permutation is what we call the nirvana of all patterns and sequences.

Permutation was a term that I learned from computer science. Essentially it is an algorithm designed to rearrange objects in a certain sequence. In this design, there are squares colored in either light or dark gray that are ordered in a certain sequence to display this diamond like structure.

Concept

Would you believe me I actually grabbed this concept from a mobile game background? I wouldn't either. I played this Japanese game one day and noticed the background of the game.

*Note this is hard to see because the display of a mobile game is usually low quality, therefore finding footage of this game ended up like this.

If you can get past the similarities in the gray shade, you can see this cubic sequence being used as the background. It inspired me to think of a way to take that design and go 3 steps further, as I see the potential of growth of this particular sequence.

Progression

Well I first started out, grabbing a ruler and a flash-card to draw a Grid, and then drew circles within the grid, and then drew lines to make the pattern. The issue is that I cannot find the flashcards I drew my initial prototypes, therefore you are going to have to use your imagination.

I then went on Illustrator and did the same process, however I ran in some problems. The first problem is the amount of work needed to be done. The following picture shows how many objects I have to create and then copy and paste to get it done

And then I had to think of dealing with duplicates. If I had duplicate lines, it will make the file larger and harder to rearrange due to the amount of overlaps. Therefore I have to create my own sequence and follow this pattern to make my squares.

Where this pattern will be used to fit into this space over here

As for the other size, you may have noticed that it is a reflection of the left side, therefore I have to create a separate pattern to make it up.

Where this pattern will fit into this part of the work

 And eventually after a few hours, I will come up with the entire sequence here

So then it was time to move on coloring the sequence. If I were to put this on a white shirt, it is quite difficult to see the pattern existing. I guess there are some shirts that would use that concept, which might not be a bad idea, I might do that later.

I was experimenting with a few colors and started with this.

However, this became a little unpleasing to look that. The dark colors don't really complement with each other and there is no smooth transition between the blue and purple.

So then I tried the purple to pink sequence, which is actually way nicer than the first iteration, however I didn't like the overall look since the colors overwhelm the design, having people look at the colors rather than the sequence. It will look good as a blanket, not as a t-shirt.

Execution

So after realizing how colors takes the attention away from the actual sequence, I decided to grayscale the colors, giving this rich gray tone throughout the sequence.

And the good thing is that the contrast between the light and dark gray don't really take away from the patterns within the sequence and the black background really empowers the entire concept, giving it an almost cosmic vibe I guess.

I personally don't think this is a t-shirt design that will be popular, however it is provides an introduction for me to create future patterns/iterations in the future. It is truly a stepping stone in my journey of learning Permutated designs.

May pattern enthusiasts thrive with the simplicity of this design.