Featuring new patterns with detailed explanatory texts, this revised edition is an inspirational guide for craftspeople and artists alike. The marvels of Islamic patterns—the most recognizable visual expression of Islamic art and architecture—are not just a beautiful accident. The ancient practitioners of this craft used traditional methods of measurement to create dazzling geometric compositions, often based on the repetition of a single pattern. The results are magnificent in their beauty and awe-inspiring in their execution. Now, with the aid of this book, everyone can learn how to master this ancient art and create their own intricate patterns or re-create classic examples. All that is needed is a pencil, a ruler, a compass, and a steady hand. Technical tips demonstrate the geometric basics such as how to create designs from one of the foundational “family” shapes: a square, hexagon, or pentagon. This is followed by step-by-step instructions for reproducing some of the best examples of geometric patterns. Islamic Geometric Patterns contains twenty-three geometric patterns and brief histories of some of the most famous and beautiful Islamic art and architecture from around the world. This revised edition features seven new patterns from locations including: Ak Medrese in Nigde, Turkey; Chellah necropolis in Rabat, Morocco; Shah Jahan Mosque in Thatta, Pakistan; the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah in Agra, India; the Alcazar in Seville, Spain; Zaouia Moulay Idriss II in Fes, Morocco; and Darwish Pasha Mosque in Damascus, Syria.

More than 400 original, black-and-white, attention-getting graphics that pop, recede, and shimmer. Circles, squares, ellipses, curves, lines, and angles create unique visual effects that are at times strong and intriguing and sometimes — purely dazzling. Great for use in ornamental packaging, room decoration, and graphics, the illustrations can be cropped, enlarged, or used as is.

In this amazing cache of designs, arresting displays of geometrics explode into thousands of fascinating variations. Each of forty-one original black-and-white motifs is spun into three pages of adaptations, offering strikingly different variations on the original theme. More than 4,300 images build upon basic geometric shapes, transforming circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles into intricate patterns that form kaleidoscopic designs, optical illusions, and hypnotic abstracts. A versatile resource for graphics, art, and craft projects, this collection offers not only a wealth of images for immediate practical use but also an excellent reference for design inspiration.

The main focus of this unique book is an in-depth examination of the polygonal technique; the primary method used by master artists of the past in creating Islamic geometric patterns. The author details the design methodology responsible for this all-but-lost art form and presents evidence for its use from the historical record, both of which are vital contributions to the understanding of this ornamental tradition. Additionally, the author examines the historical development of Islamic geometric patterns, the significance of geometric design within the broader context of Islamic ornament as a whole, the formative role that geometry plays throughout the Islamic ornamental arts (including calligraphy, the floral idiom, dome decoration, geometric patterns, and more), and the underexamined question of pattern classification. Featuring over 600 beautiful color images, Islamic Geometric Patterns: Their Historical Development and Traditional Methods of Con struction is a valuable addition to the literature of Islamic art, architecture and geometric patterns. This book is ideal for students and scholars of geometry, the history of mathematics, and the history of Islamic art, architecture, and culture. In addition, artists, designers, craftspeople, and architects will all find this book an exceptionally informative and useful asset in their fields. Jay Bonner is an architectural ornamentalist and unaffiliated scholar of Islamic geometric design. He received his MDes from the Royal College of Art in London (1983). He has contributed ornamental designs for many international architectural projects, including the expansion of both the al-Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca, and the al-Masjid an Nawabi (Prophet’s Mosque) in Medina, as well the Tomb of Sheikh Hujwiri in Lahore, and the Ismaili Centre in London – to name but a few. He is committed to the revitalization of Islamic geometric design through the teaching of traditional methodological practices. To this end, in addition to publishing, Jay Bonner has lectured and taught design seminars at many universities and conferences in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia.

DIVStunning patterns of ovals, rectangles, triangles, circles and many more for a variety of stained glass projects in the elegant Art Deco style. 136 b/w line illus. /div

The latest book based on the popular Print & Pattern website, Print & Pattern: Geometric celebrates beautiful surface designs, patterns, and motifs made from geometric shapes such as circles, triangles, hexagons, etc. The patterns included reflect current trends for tribal, Aztec, and Native American designs, along with Scandinavian influences and more mathematical and scientific looks. Product areas covered include stationery, cards and giftwrap, fabrics, wallpaper, rugs, ceramics, homewares, gadget skins, and more. Documenting the work of the best designers in the field, the book is an invaluable source of reference and inspiration for surface designers, designer-makers and craftspeople, graphic designers, illustrators, and textile designers.