Eye Candy: Islamic Art Pattern Archive

Craft & Design

I'm a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. I was an editor on the first 40 volumes of MAKE, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. In particular, covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

Contact me at snowgoli@gmail.com or via @snowgoli.

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June 4th, 2010

Tilework detail at Hazrat-e Masumeh mosque in Qom, Iran. Photo taken by me.
The Wade Photo Archive has a wonderful website of 4000 pattern images you can browse for design inspiration. Much of the work is copyrighted so you can’t exactly grab and go, but just looking through centuries of incredibly ornate patterns can really get your creative juices flowing. The way the site is organized is great and includes information on origins and significance, as well as drawings, diagrams, and analyses. I love their browse by region feature.