Michael Whitehead

Upon graduating in 1986 with an M.A. in Fashion and Textiles from Birmingham Polytechnic, I combined freelance design work with part time/visiting lecturer work in Further and Higher Education on Art Foundation, BTEC General Art & Design, and Degree level courses.

Freelance experience included design work undertaken for Fashion and Furnishing textiles, wall-coverings, home textiles, gift-wrap, stationary and illustrative market, and for personal enjoyment the occasional painting and lino-print.

My fascination in drawing and decorative design was awoken at an early age when I realised I could scratch patterns into my ‘Thunderbirds’ wallpaper! This led to a more sophisticated and less destructive interest in printing, painting and illustration, and the breadth of surfaces that imagery and pattern can be applied to.

I admire artist and designers with the versatility to apply their skills across disciplines, and that is what attracted me to Surface Pattern Design, the opportunity to consider a broad range of end products and surfaces, work on a large and small scale, to adopt an illustrative or painterly approach as the end product demanded, and to produce aesthetic decorative designs that people would enjoy living with every day.