Texture

   As a designer there will be times when I must consider texture. In many genres of design texture may need to be carefully chosen. Perhaps none more so than  Clothing and Fashion Design. I remember uncomfortable itchy scratchy sports wear at school, seemingly made from recycled sandpaper. I would never buy clothing like that again once I could choose my own. One of the most comfortable shirts I have ever had was one made from a very soft heavy cotton. A natural material that felt great to wear. Perhaps more expensive than recycled sandpaper, but the frequency of use easily outweighed the extra purchase cost.
   Furniture and Interior Designers will also think about texture. I wouldn't want a suite made out of itchy scratchy stuff.  I would much rather sit on the floor. Textured wallpapers on feature walls are popular but some textured finishes have fallen out of favour. Artex ceilings seem to be a thing of the past and thankfully wood chip wall paper is no longer popular.
   But what about other things with texture designed into them? My son has a book that cleverly uses textures to help describe the story. I can remember it was a favourite of his for some time. I also recall how quickly he remembered the new story. He liked the sort material on the teddy bear best of all. This demonstrates how we quickly connect emotions to texture at a young age, or perhaps how powerful teddy bears really are!
  Texture has aesthetic design  qualities and can have an emotional impact on us but texture also has  practical uses too.  Anti-slip floor coverings are a good example of how a practical application of texture can be used within a design project. The image below uses at least two forms of texture, and I suspect there maybe three. The first and more obvious one is the raised circular pattern. This would allows liquids to drain without entirely covering the flooring. Secondly the raised sections have a textured finish which will offer a better level of grip. Lastly the speckles are likely to be made from a more wear resistant material and could provide even more grip.

Anti-slip floor covering

   Texture can be used to give the impression of or convey quality. It can be used to improve safety and it can alter our emotional state. Considering textures in design is very important and many clever uses of texture can be found in our daily lives.

 
   Anti-slip flooring[online image]Available at:<http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/anti-slip-pvc-flooring-64569-2093471.jpg> [Accessed March 17 2013]