What is the maximalist style, and how can you embrace it in your designs? Join me in this tutorial to find out more about minimalism vs maximalism and create your own maximalist pattern using Affinity Designer. Let's get creative!
If you don't have the time to make a pattern from scratch, you can always try Envato, where you'll find a large selection of patterns and graphics that are ready to be used to make maximalist art.
What is maximalism? Key characteristics
Maximalism is a way to define an eclectic style with a chaotic array of colors, prints, objects, and textures in a single space. This spread from home design to graphic design and social media.
This style is by no means a modern trend. Maximalism has existed across the globe and can be traced to the 16th century, when wealthy people used maximalism as a way to show off what they had.
To understand what the maximalist style is, we need to highlight its key characteristics:
- Eclectic mix of styles: combines historical and contemporary elements. Art Deco, psychedelic art, and pop culture are very commonly used.
- Vibrant color palette: bold and bright colors dominate the design, creating surprising combinations.
- Contrasting patterns: geometric, floral, abstract.
- Layering: elements can be layered and put together to create visually appealing new art.
- Attention to detail: every element, no matter the size, is arranged to create a perfect visual balance within a design.
- Little to no white space.
What is maximalist design?
Maximalist graphic design follows a “more is more” philosophy, contrasting with the minimalist principle of "less is more". It will often blend an eclectic mix of patterns, colors, textures, shapes, typography, and even 3D objects into the same design.
Despite embracing excess and abundance, the maximalist style has never promoted a messy or overfilled design; instead, it's about keeping a good balance by incorporating well-thought-out elements. The result is a design that brings you joy and a new form of self-expression. It's about creating an interesting mix to delight the eye and allow for playful experimentation.
What you'll learn in this tutorial
Now that you know what the maximalist style is, let's create a pattern design step by step in Affinity Designer. Here's what we'll cover:
- How to make a seamless pattern tile
- How to make a dot pattern
- How to make a 3D pattern
- How to make a hatching pattern
- How to make a typography pattern
- How to import patterns in Affinity Designer
- How to make a seamless pattern in Affinity Designer
Tutorial assets
You'll need the following resources to complete this project:
1. How to make a new document in Affinity Designer
Launch Affinity Designer and go to File > New to open the New Document window. Type in the dimensions shown and set the resolution to 72 dpi, the Document units to Pixels, and the Color format to RGB. Hit Create.
2. How to make the pattern tile
Step 1
Start by taking the Rectangle Tool (M) and drawing a 332 x 332 px square on your artboard. Fill this shape with off black R=26, G=26, B=26 in the Color panel.
Step 2
Switch to the Ellipse Tool (M) and draw a 115 x 115 px circle on your artboard. The fill color is not important this time.
Next, while both shapes stay selected, open the Alignment panel located up in the Toolbar (View > Show Toolbar). Choose Align to: Spread and then click on Align Center followed by Align Middle. Hit Apply. Both shapes will now be located in the center of your artboard, and it will be easier for you to compose the pattern tile.
Step 3
Before multiplying the circle, go to View > Snapping Manager and make sure to check Enable snapping. Leave the other settings as they are and hit Close. Now, Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) the middle circle and move the copy to the upper right corner of the black tile. The red and green guides will appear, helping you to align the center of the circle with the corner of the square (1).
Multiply the circle three more times and position the copies in the other corners of the tile, just like you did with the first one. The guides are very intuitive and helpful (2).
Step 4
Copy and Paste the middle circle again; then move it to the right edge of the tile. Repeat this process and position the middle top, middle left, and bottom circles.
Step 5
Make four other copies of the circle and position them between the existing ones. Zoom in and make sure there is equal space all around.
3. How to make a dot pattern
Step 1
The first pattern to make is a simple dot pattern. Focus on one of the circles from the pattern tile and color it orange (1). Next, grab the Ellipse Tool (M) and start to draw a bunch of different-sized circles on top of it. Fill them with a bright orange-red color (2). Alternatively, you can use the Pen Tool (P) to draw irregular dots if you prefer. Multiply these dots and cover the entire area (3).
If you want to make this pattern seamless, you can easily do so. You will be able to use it in other projects too, which is great. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to draw a 145 x 145 px square around the circle, which will define the pattern tile. Now, while creating your dot design, make sure that the dots located on the left side of the square are reflected on the right side as well (highlighted with blue) and that the dots located at the top are reflected at the bottom (highlighted with green). This way, your design will be seamless (4).
Step 2
It's time to mask the dot pattern. Copy and Paste the orange circle; this will make a copy of it exactly in place. Now, drag the group of dots under the top circle in the Layers panel to mask everything. That's it!
You can position the dot pattern anywhere on your tile. My choice is in the upper right corner.
4. How to make a 3D pattern
Step 1
First, go to View > Grid and Axis Manager and check the Show grid box to activate it. Hit Close. Grab the Pen Tool (P) and draw a perspective shape that's 2 grid squares in width and 2.5 grid squares in height. Give it an orange fill color (1). Continue to draw another shape on the right side with the same width and height. Give it a red fill color (2). Lastly, draw the top shape to complete the cube. Fill it with beige (3).
Step 2
Multiply the cube and start arranging about four of them in a row. After that, multiply the entire row and create the 3D pattern as shown. This will speed things up.
Step 3
To mask the 3D pattern, first decide its location on the tile, and then simply drag it under that specific circle in the Layers panel. Masking in Affinity Designer is so easy.
5. How to make a hatching pattern
Step 1
Focus on another circle and color it with green. Next, use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a vertical path over it, which should not be perfectly straight. Apply a 2.5 pt Stroke using orange, and check Scale with object in the Stroke panel to keep the proportions in case you decide to scale the pattern later. Also, in the Stroke panel, under Pressure, select and drag only the first point downwards to make the stroke thinner at the top.
Step 2
Draw another path with the Pen Tool (P), apply a 2.7 Stroke using orange, and then, under Pressure, select and drag only the second point downwards to make the stroke thinner at the bottom.
Step 3
Following the technique explained above, continue to draw more vertical paths as shown (1). Once that's done, start to draw horizontal paths with the Pen Tool (P) and apply the same settings (2). For a more natural look, I recommend choosing different stroke widths such as 1.3 pt, 1.6 pt, 2.5 pt, 3 pt, and 3.5 pt.
To mask the hatching, make a copy of the green circle and then drag the entire group of strokes under it, as you did before (3).
Step 4
Position the hatching circle pattern on the left side of the tile, in the middle. Make a copy of it and move it to the right side as well because this way, the final maximalist design will be seamless.
6. How to make a warped pattern
We already have a great tutorial explaining how to make a warped checkerboard pattern in Affinity Designer, so go ahead and take a look. You'll be able to create your own from scratch. Once that's done, decide its position on the tile and mask it as you did before.
7. How to make a typography pattern
Step 1
Grab the Pen Tool (P) and write "love" on your artboard as shown. For each letter, apply a 20 pt Stroke using black and the Graphite Scribble 02 brush available in the Brushes panel under the Pencils category. Make sure that Scale with object is checked in the Stroke panel to maintain the proportions when we scale the text.
Step 2
Scale the text and position it inside a 210 x 210 px square (1). Make copies of the text, bigger and smaller, and arrange them as shown (2). To create a seamless typography pattern, make sure to copy the text positioned on the left side of the square to the right side as well. To do this, while the two pieces of text stay selected, make copies of them and then type +210 px (which is the width of the square tile) next to your X coordinate in the Transform panel. Hit Enter. This will move the two pieces of text to the right side (3).
It's time to mask the pattern. First, group all the text and then drag the group under the square. Remove the square's stroke (4).
Step 3
The seamless typography pattern is ready to use. Start to multiply it and arrange the tiles over a light gray circle. The guides will help you to align the tiles perfectly. Once the circle is completely covered, you can make a copy of it and then drag all the tiles under it to mask everything.
Step 4
Include the typography pattern in your maximalist design.
8. How to import patterns in Affinity Designer
Step 1
When it comes to maximalism, you don't have to create everything from scratch. There's nothing wrong with using ready-made graphics and importing patterns into Affinity Designer to speed up the process, especially because a maximalist style requires so many elements. On Envato, you can find a multitude of resources that are ready to use, just like the Circle pattern doodle, textures and print samples that I decided to include in my design.
Open the EPS file with Affinity Designer and copy the swirls circle pattern into your document. Scale it to 115 x 115 px, which is the size of all the circles in our maximalist pattern.
Step 2
Since the swirls are vector, you can easily color them in off black and position them on a pink circle.
Feel free to use any other circle pattern from the set featured above into your maximalist design. They're all perfect for this type of pattern.
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Step 3
For the designs on the remaining circles, we'll use ready-made patterns again but in a different way. Featured below are the Black Brushstrokes and Blue Tiger seamless patterns. Although they're not made specifically for Affinity Designer, they are very easy to work with, just like any other vectors, as long as you have an EPS or SVG file included in the download.
After you open the EPS files in Affinity Designer, remove any existing background and copy the patterns into your document.
Step 4
Color one of the circles with pink, and then grab just a few pieces of brush strokes and tiger stripes from the patterns shown above. Rotate, scale, and arrange them over the circle and recolor them. Be creative!
Once done, make a copy of the pink circle and drag all the elements under it to mask everything.
Step 5
For the next circle pattern, use the tiger stripes again. Position them as you like on a pink circle, and color them with green. Mask the stripes as you did before.
Step 6
It's time to include the last two circle patterns into the design. Make sure to position the same circle design on the opposite side of the tile as well to obtain a seamless pattern in the end.
Step 7
We're almost done. To improve the final look of the pattern, you can draw five straight paths with the Pen Tool (P) that go through the middle of the circles. Apply a 1 pt off white Stroke to all of them. Send them behind all the circles but in front of the black square tile.
The maximalist pattern is looking great. Make a copy of the square, and then drag all the design elements under it to mask everything and obtain a clean, seamless pattern tile.
9. How to make a seamless pattern in Affinity Designer
Unlike other applications, you can't just save the pattern tile and use it to fill shapes. Affinity Designer works differently. To make a pattern as big as you need it to be, you have to multiply the tile and compose the pattern. The guides will help you align the pattern tiles perfectly.
Congratulations! You're done
Now you know what maximalist design is and how to make a maximalist style pattern in Affinity Designer. Feel free to make it your own by including any other elements and changing the color palette. The "more is more" philosophy allows you to create a truly unique design. Go for it!
Make sure to check out Envato, where you'll find plenty of Affinity Designer templates and graphics that are ready for you to download and use.
The pattern design you made is entirely vector and high-resolution, so feel free to save it for print or include it in your projects. Use a Paper cup mockup to display or test how it looks.
Popular resources from Envato
Envato is an excellent resource for patterns. Let's explore some ready-to-use alternatives that you can download right now and include in your maximalist art projects.
Retro Universe Geometric (AI, EPS, JPG, PNG, SVG)
Let's start big with a bold recommendation. This set includes both 2D and 3D design elements which are perfect for making maximalist art. The bright, neon colors will make your designs stand out from the crowd. You can truly create something unique with these elements.
Abstract Geometric Seamless Vector Background (AI, EPS, JPG, PDF, PNG, PSD, SVG)
A more approachable option is this pattern design, which is already seamless and ready to use. You can also grab individual pieces from it and include them in your maximalist graphic design. The color palette includes purple, pink, mauve shades, and a touch of orange, and it's friendly and well balanced.
Abstract Pop Patterns (AI, EPS, JPG)
If you're looking for that special background to transform your design and make it wow, look no further. Here are five options for you to try. Your poster, cover, banner, or social media designs will be fresh, modern, and maximalist, ready to draw all the attention.
Abstract Seamless Geometric Designs (AI, EPS, JPG, PDF, PNG, PSD)
This is another ready-to-use seamless pattern out of many others that you can find on Envato. Not to mention that it comes in a lot of different file formats that you can open with multiple applications. Grab it and make your designs loud.
Abstract Patterns Vector Illustration (AI, EPS, JPG, PDF)
This illustration is made up of a lot of individual elements that you can easily use as tiles to help you compose a maximalist pattern design in no time. You have plenty of options to mix and match from geometric shapes, dots, floral designs, and symbols. Be creative!
Want to learn more about Affinity Designer?
Did you like this tutorial on how to create a pattern in Affinity Designer? We have loads of tutorials on Envato Tuts+ that teach many other useful techniques. Here's a list of tutorials specially made for you. Take a look!
Affinity Designer Quick Start Course
How to Create Patterns in Affinity Designer
How to make a warped checkerboard pattern in Affinity Designer
How to add a gradient fill in Affinity Designer
How to Use Parametric Shapes in Affinity Designer
How to Create a Layered Text Effect in Affinity Designer
How to Create a Lightning Bolt Logo Design in Affinity Designer
How to Add Brushes to Affinity Designer
How to Make 3D Text in Affinity Designer
How to create a cartoon text effect in Affinity Designer
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