Design Development
Design development asks you to move from a source motif to a producible design. The marking looks for sequence and justification: why this motif, why this repeat, why this palette for this technique.
The working sequence
Brief and constraints (use, size, cost, technique) → research and motif sourcing from Odisha's vocabulary (lotus, conch, chakra, fish, peacock, elephant, Gita Govinda figure) → thumbnails → selection → refinement and grid drafting (naksha) → repeat construction → colourways → technical drawing with dimensions → prototype and correction.
Repeat types
- Block/simple repeat: motif repeats on a straight grid.
- Half-drop: alternate columns shift down by half the motif height - the standard for saree fields.
- Brick: alternate columns shift by half a motif width, keeping rows aligned.
- Mirror: motif reflected on an axis. Know which edge must match; a repeat fails if the motif crosses the join without registering.
Technique-led design
Ikat motifs must be plotted on the warp–weft grid because the pattern lives in the yarn; curved, fine lines are costly. Appliqué needs bold, simple shapes with clean stitch edges. Stone relief needs shallower detail than a painting. A beautiful design that cannot be produced loses marks.
Worked example
Half-drop repeat of a peacock on a 15 cm square. Draw the motif inside the square; on the column to the right, copy it shifted down 7.5 cm; on the row below, shifted across 15 cm. At the top and bottom edges, the peacock's tail must re-enter at the same point - check the seam by folding the sheet.
Traps
Swapping half-drop and brick; designing with no seam check; ignoring the production technique; too many colours for a limited dye lot; sketching only the motif and never the border, pallu and ground together.