For this university project every student was required to create a stamp that could be used to make a seamless pattern. Additionally this pattern had to be be used as packaging for a suitable product. I had never designed something using purely geometric shapes and decided to try it out. Coming from South Africa, I opted for the brightly coloured geometric designs for which the Ndebele people in the north of the country are famous for. Since only South Africa produces Rooibos Tea I thought this an apt product to design for. When steeped, Rooibos has an orange tint, therefore I chose orange for the coloured sections.
Two stamps were necessary to make my pattern. First, a traditional linocut to create the thick black outlines, as lino allows for more precision work. Second, a more unconventional method using foam sheets to cut out six shapes that would create the coloured sections, glued onto a wooden block.
After scanning the design and duplicating it in Adobe Photoshop, I placed the pattern on a tea-box mock-up and there it was: Rooibos Tea packaging that visually represented its South African origin.