How Surface Designer Erin Hoffmann Enhanced Her Job Skills at Otis Extension

The Surface Design Certificate Program balances traditional and digital design methods while providing a supportive community. 

Erin Hoffmann already had a background in art and design before enrolling in Otis Extension’s Surface Design Certificate Program, having received a BFA in illustration with a minor in drawing at the Savannah College of Art and Design. In her last year of college, Hoffmann took a repeat pattern class and fell in love. After graduation she got a job at Ruggable in Los Angeles as a junior surface designer.

However, Hoffmann yearned to learn more hands-on surface design techniques and decided to enroll in Otis Extension’s Surface Design Certificate Program, which is rooted in both traditional and digital design methods. Throughout the nine-course program, students create and develop repeating prints and patterns that become the foundation for fabric collections and surface designs used across fashion, home décor, stationery, and more.

Students learn traditional methods such as block printing, watercolor, gouache, cyanotype, and shibori for making patterns on a range of physical surfaces that are then digitized into repeating patterns using Adobe Creative Suite or Procreate. By the end of the program, students have a portfolio demonstrating design and technical proficiency for careers in several industries including surface design, fashion design, product design, and graphic design.

Hoffmann, who now works as a surface designer for Mytext Home Fashions in New York City, shared how Otis Extension’s Surface Design Certificate Program helped accelerate her professional growth.

	Daisy Stamps Erin Hoffman A sample of Erin Hoffmann's surface designs, created using both traditional and digital methods.
	All Flowers Erin Hoffman A sample of Erin Hoffmann's surface designs, created using both traditional and digital methods.
	Untitled Stamp Erin Hoffman A sample of Erin Hoffmann's surface designs, created using both traditional and digital methods.

What influenced your decision to take Surface Design courses at Otis Extension? 

I have always had a love of learning. My first job out of college was at Ruggable as a surface designer; that’s where I really found my love for designing for products. Although I was just beginning my career in the surface design field, I wanted a more traditional education of the industry and all of its nuances.

In what ways did your Extension courses balance creative work and industry preparation? 

In the surface design program at Otis, I learned a lot about traditional processes. The job I had while taking these classes had a very modern-day take on tackling the design process. We created the majority of the art digitally and the products were manufactured using digital printing. The Otis courses gave me insight on older, more traditional roller and screen manufacturing and production processes of handmade art and how to digitize it. This has given me the tools to be able to take on and adapt to many different production processes no matter the creative team I am working with. Understanding the traditional processes of surface design has also helped me understand a wider variety of designs and why the end product looks how it does.

What courses had a big impact on your creative and career trajectory? 

Surface Design: Production was the most pivotal class for me. I love to break things down and see how each element comes together to build the final product. This course broke down the barrier between physical and traditional art and digital manufacturing. It allowed me to start creating more intricate patterns.

I also really loved taking all of the Surface Design: Techniques classes. As a mainly digital artist, I love any excuse to create and play with other mediums. In these courses I was able to find what fit for me and my art style—something I wouldn’t have taken the time to do on my own.

Who were some of your instructors and how did they impact your experience? 

Debra Valencia was my instructor for Surface Design: Basics and Surface Design: Collections. While building on the style and overall collection of art I wanted in my portfolio, she really helped with guiding me on the business side of surface design and how I could go about being a freelance surface designer.

Brett Barker was my instructor for all of the surface design techniques classes. She really fostered a fun and collaborative working environment from which I built a lot of my Otis connections. She also helped me push myself to create with mediums and techniques that I was not the most comfortable with, and in the end helped me find techniques outside of my digital art that I have come to love.

In what ways did Otis Extension enable you to build upon your network?

I have kept in touch with quite a few people in my program, some in L.A. and some out here in New York. Although a lot of people taking the Otis Extension courses are starting from different points in their art career, it has been great motivation to see where everyone has continued with their art post Otis. I have worked professionally with some people from my Otis program in order to help them launch their own brands and businesses. I have also connected with some people from the Otis program after moving to New York who helped me get my footing in a new city and art community.

Learn more about certificate programs available through Otis Extension or check out our current course offerings. 

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