How to make background patterns for your next design project | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Namika Hamasaki uses a daily pattern challenge to develop creativity through repetition without producing repetitive results. Her process combines observation, unconventional color palettes, layout grids, geometric experimentation, and Figma components to turn simple ideas into seamless patterns. The central lesson is that consistent practice and attention to everyday details can make creative work easier and more adventurous.

Finding Daily Inspiration

• Inspiration can come from ordinary surroundings, including:
  • Food
  • Architecture
  • Furniture
  • Nature
  • Landscapes encountered during a commute
• Hamasaki photographs interesting shapes, colors, and compositions for later reference.
• Maintaining an inspiration library helps prevent the blank-page problem and provides starting points for new designs.

Building a Color Palette

• The challenge allows her to experiment beyond the brand color restrictions common in professional work.
• She often derives palettes from inspiring photographs.
• Figma’s Image Palette plugin extracts colors from images and generates a usable palette.

Setting Up a Grid

• A grid helps organize pattern elements and ensures that the final design can repeat correctly.
• Hamasaki uses Figma’s Layout grid to establish the structure before placing shapes.

Experimenting with Geometric Shapes

• Complex-looking patterns begin with basic forms such as circles, rectangles, and triangles.
• She strategically places shapes on the grid, then experiments with:
  • Rotating circles or semicircles
  • Shifting elements
  • Varying rotation angles
  • Testing different color combinations
• The process is intentionally exploratory, allowing unexpected visual results to emerge.

Creating Seamless Patterns

• Once a design feels successful, Hamasaki converts it into a component.
• She turns off the component’s Clip content option.
• She duplicates and arranges the component across a frame to create a repeating pattern.
• Editing elements inside the master component lets her quickly test different layouts across all duplicated instances.

The practical recommendation is to establish a regular creative exercise, document visual inspiration, and use simple, flexible systems—such as palettes, grids, and reusable components—to explore many possibilities efficiently.