How We Design: Deucekat and Vibrant x Tennis
I can point to many reasons why we created deucekat.
The simplest explanation is that we wanted to see more vibrance and color in tennis bags. Tennis has many amazing apparel shades. Though when looking for bags, the color choices always came up short from what I wanted.
I love stepping on the court with a pair bright knee-high socks, boldly colored shirts and pleated skirts. It feels good to look good! Whether you realize it or not, bright colors give us energy. The bag should extend the excitement.
I sketch all of the fabric designs for deucekat, and I take great pride in this. Deucekat patterns are very special because they are not pulled from an impersonal, generic mass-produced roll of fabric. It takes me at least 15 hours to create a fabric design, otherwise known as a “repeat.”
The process for each Deucekat design varies. I created Jacaranda Bloom by sketching on my iPad in an app called Tayasui Sketches, and then moved into Adobe Illustrator. For our other patterns, I sketch and paint directly into Adobe Illustrator using a digital tablet.
“vi·brant
/ˈvībrənt/
adjective
full of energy and enthusiasm.
(of color) bright and striking.
”
As my co-founder-partner knows very well, creating fabric designs for our bags is a hit and miss process. We have learned that some ideas may not always translate as we intended onto a tennis bag. For every 5 “great” designs, there are at least 30 “bad” sketches that did not meet our expectations. I have learned that these “bad” designs are simply part of my creative process.
I once sketched pattern that involves a turtle, affectionately named Snippy. He certainly is cute and has a bit of a personal funny story attached - but perhaps not the best idea for a tennis bag.
I do see the positives in the trial and error creative process. I always learn something from all of my design projects, like a new technique or a faster way of bringing an idea to a new pattern.
When my fabric swatch is complete, I know it is a good one if it invokes emotion and has an energy not easily put into words.
Patterns that we ultimately select for deucekat tennis bags are those that give us a feeling of excitement, energy, and a compelling feeling of wanting to look at and carry it with us over and over again!