Designs in Mind: The Power of Positivity in Design

Designs in Mind is a social enterprise supporting adults living with mental health challenges. Their passion and belief in the power of positivity through creativity echoes our values of embracing the joy of simple pleasures in the everyday, and the impact that our homes can have on our mental health. This infectiously joyful collection of fabrics, wallpapers and bedding is not one to miss...

Designs in Mind fabric   |   Designs in Mind wallpaper

Notable colours and designs in this happiest of collections include warming and recognisable shades that add to that sense of a comforting home. Chai and Ochre in particular are highlighted in Doggy Day Care and River Wander, fun, playful designs that add a sense of fun to your home.

The spark of an idea

Initially introduced to our brand by designer and creative director, Theo Williams, Designs in Mind’s creative mentor for the past three years, Theo has played a hugely important role in empowering Designs in Mind with the tools to set up this collaboration. Elin Humphreys, Design Lead at Designs in Mind, said, “He has continually championed Designs in Mind and encouraged us to contact Scion to build a relationship with the possibility of collaboration. His knowledge has been invaluable in the development of our creative material for the design industry.”

It all began when Designs in Mind reached out to us. Charlotte Gibson, Lead Designer said, "We loved the whole story behind Designs in Mind and the idea that it sat so effortlessly with Scion’s values of simple pleasures in the everyday". To kick-start the collaboration, we set a brief called 'A Place Called Home' and we took it from there, brainstorming with the workshop leaders, Elin and Bridie, to discover what home means to their members.

"Every response was consistent with the ideas of pets, florals, and gardens especially. Those simple mood boosters such as light coming in through the window, snuggling up on the sofa, etc. Then, each week for 10 weeks Designs in Mind chose an area to focus on and ran their creative workshops according to the theme.”

A joyful creative dialogue

From there a creative dialogue was established, in which the talented members of Designs in Mind would create patterns and prints that shone with the happy memories of home. From still life drawing pets (yes, they had pets sit for them) to reminiscing over garden highlights and nature walks, a range of artistic techniques were tested and supported by our designers, to realise a capsule collection of designs that would radiate positive home values and relatable moments, all with a cheeky edge.

Colour became an important focal point and, as something that Scion is well versed at utilising, Charlotte and the team were more than willing to get creative with colour, “We took swatches, photography, paint samples, dipsticks, and colour boards to show the members how we form colour.”

Not limited to colourways, Charlotte and the team were keen to share an insight into how we, as a brand, go about discovering the next Mr Fox or Rosehip print,  “We started off with an inspirational image and then built on it through what we know about happy colours, with calming, muted, chalky shades being mixed with poppier shades, then allowed the members to go wild and create their own colour story, drawing out what colour means to them.”

Being known for characterful creations meant that a particular week of design, really struck a chord across the entire team, “There was a week on pets where they screen printed, painted, drew single line, and even had a sitting for still life pets (a willing tortoise obliged) working across all different mediums over that week of creativity.” From these workshops, we were able to tap into the joy that the simple pleasures of pet ownership could bring and work on designs that sang Scion from the rooftops.

Charlotte continued, “We gave feedback on the design elements so that it was a learning event as well. For example, how faces are drawn and how we would tweak it to reflect our Scion style. Faces on characters are super important.”

Something integral to the success of this partnership was that it always stayed connected to the joy and simple pleasures that design can give when creating and, as an extension of that, the joy that these amazing wallpapers and fabrics would bring to those who bought them.

“We were interested to know what kind of workshops we could provide that would add value. This collaboration isn’t about what they gave us, because they gave us some brilliant designs, it was about what we could give to them as well… They had our mentoring and we had their amazing? members and their talents. We then worked collaboratively to create the beautiful prints at the end.”

By embracing our values every step of the way and remaining connected to Designs in Mind’s mission to create a space for people facing mental health challenges to flourish through art and design, we’ve created a collection of prints that reflect the outward and inward joy that we hope to bring in everything we do. 

Print with purpose.

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