# Creating Trendy Designs with Abstract Patterns in Adobe Illustrator - review & insight | Gareth B. Davies Source: https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/creating-trendy-designs-with-abstract-patterns-in-adobe-illustrator/ [← All courses](https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/) Graphic Design · Quick win · Rated 7 /10 # Creating Trendy Designs with Abstract Patterns in Adobe Illustrator By Gareth B. Davies · Updated August 2026 Evgeniya & Dominic Righini-Brand · Graphic Design & Photography Intermediate · 44 min A tight 44-minute follow-up that turns basic patterns into layered Illustrator compositions, but it assumes you already made the patterns. [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fcreating-trendy-designs-with-abstract-patterns-in-adobe-illustrator%2F249418039) New to Skillshare? Your first month is free, enough to take this course at no cost. ## A composition toolkit, not a patterns primer This class picks up exactly where its prequel left off, and it says so upfront. Evgeniya Righini-Brand treats pattern-making as solved territory and spends all 44 minutes on what happens after the patterns exist: how to combine them with shapes, type, illustrations, and each other. Viewers who skip the first class get a set of downloadable patterns to use instead, which is a reasonable workaround but a real second-best. The techniques taught here operate directly on pattern swatches and expanded pattern paths, so without either in hand, none of it is actionable. The opening third functions as a compact design-theory primer rather than a software tutorial. It covers symmetry versus asymmetry, positive and negative space, figure-ground contrast, and the rule that odd numbers of elements read as more organic than even ones. None of this is unique to patterns, but it is delivered efficiently and gives the later technique sections a vocabulary to lean on. The color section that follows is the most transferable single chunk of the class: building color groups in the Color Guide panel using harmony rules such as pentagram or analogous, then saving them for reuse with the Recolor Artwork tool. ## Where the Illustrator mechanics earn their keep The back half is where the class justifies its "intermediate" label. Scaling a pattern swatch independently of the shape it fills, by opening the Scale dialog and toggling Transform Patterns on while leaving Transform Objects off, is a small technical detail that solves a real annoyance. The same logic extends to rotating and repositioning patterns within a mask without disturbing the container shape. The Expand-and-Trim technique, which releases a pattern from its rectangular clipping frame into a ragged, organic edge, is genuinely useful and shows up again when patterns meet organic shapes drawn with the Pencil tool and divided against a background rectangle. The most involved sequence is entwining type and patterns: outlining text, duplicating it, running Pathfinder's Divide against pattern elements, then manually deleting cut fragments so pattern pieces appear to pass behind certain letterforms. It is fiddly, manual work with no shortcut offered, and the class is honest that it takes patience. ## Verdict At under an hour including three bonus timelapses, this is a lean, focused watch with almost no filler. It doesn't oversell itself. What it delivers is a set of specific, reusable Illustrator moves, clipping masks, pattern transforms, Pathfinder trims, wrapped in enough design reasoning to explain why each choice works. The tradeoff is scope: anyone without existing patterns or unfamiliar with the prequel's swatch-making workflow will find themselves borrowing assets rather than building skills from scratch. As a second course for someone who already makes patterns and wants to do more with them, it delivers cleanly on that narrow promise. The standout The entwining-type-and-patterns lesson, which shows how to outline text, divide it against pattern elements, and selectively delete cut pieces to make patterns weave believably through letterforms. ## What you will learn - · Building color palettes with the Color Guide panel using harmony rules like pentagram, analogous, and monochromatic - · Scaling, rotating, and repositioning pattern swatches independently of their container shapes using the Transform Patterns option - · Using Expand plus the Pathfinder Trim function to release a pattern from its frame for a more organic edge - · Weaving pattern elements in front of and behind outlined type using Divide and the Select Same Fill Color command - · Layering organic shapes with the Pencil tool and Pathfinder Divide to build gapless landscapes filled with varying pattern scales - · Applying clipping masks correctly, including isolation mode for editing nested elements Best for: Illustrator users who already have a stock of abstract patterns (their own or the provided set) and want a repeatable system for combining them into finished compositions. Skip it if: Complete beginners to Illustrator or anyone who hasn't watched the prerequisite patterns class, since pattern creation itself is not taught here. Helpful Examples Organization of Lessons Clarity of Instruction Actionable Steps [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fcreating-trendy-designs-with-abstract-patterns-in-adobe-illustrator%2F249418039)