From first sketch to wall pattern: meet Ana Birčić

Behind the new Walls with Souls collections is another author's signature. Ana Birčić, a graduate textile designer with an education in graphic design, who develops patterns for spaces through illustration, composition, and color, has joined our team.

Drawing has been a part of her life since early childhood. Over the years, it has grown into professional work and exploration of different styles, techniques, and applications, but play and discovering new possibilities are still an important part of her creative process.

It all starts with composition

When starting a new design, Ana does not necessarily begin with a completely defined flower, leaf, or other motif. The motif may exist as an initial idea, but its final appearance is often defined only during the process.

"Every new motif is primarily a new exploration. Composition is the most important thing to me at the beginning, and then I adapt the motif based on it."

Composition thus becomes the foundation for everything that follows. The shape of individual elements, their interrelationship, rhythm, and method of repetition are adjusted to the overall effect she wants to achieve.

This approach leaves enough room for exploration. Even after years of work, Ana enjoys playing with different styles, colors, and themes, which is why her portfolio is very diverse. Her experience in creating designs for various applications also allows her to view illustration from the very beginning in relation to its final purpose.

Inspiration is sometimes a red poppy in a green field

Ideas don't always come in the same way. Sometimes they are triggered by something from nature, sometimes by stories of ordinary people or children's play, and some simply appear.

Nature, the animal world, and playful children's imagination often appear as starting points for her illustrations, but colors and their interrelationships hold a special place in Ana's work.

"I love colors, relationships, and color contrasts in nature. A red poppy in a green field – an eternal inspiration."

It is precisely color that can completely change the perception of a pattern. The same drawing, through a different relationship of tones, acquires a new character, and thus acts differently when transferred to a large wall surface.

There is also one element that Ana gladly returns to, each time in a different way:

"I love stripes in 101 ways."

Wallpaper begins to be created before the first drawing

When designing for wallpaper, it's not enough to think only about what an individual motif looks like. It's necessary to imagine how the entire pattern will function on a real wall.

That's why Ana thinks about the space before she starts drawing.

First, she determines the size the motif should have in the space. After that, basic sketches are created, elements are arranged within the composition, and the way they will meaningfully repeat is defined.

Then follows the precise technical part of the process: transforming the sketch into a digital illustration, creating and checking repeats, harmonizing connections, and developing different color combinations.

Behind a pattern that appears harmonious and natural on the finished wallpaper lies a combination of creative work and very precise preparation.

Ana has a simple criterion for knowing when a design is successful:

For Ana, a design is successful when individual elements, through repetition, become a harmonious whole. In wallpapers, this relationship is particularly important; a flower, leaf, or branch may look good on its own, but only through their arrangement, rhythm, and repetition does a pattern emerge that works on the entire wall.

How were the new Walls with Souls collections created?

The collaboration began with a creative direction defined for the new collections by our creative curator, Martina Matrinić.

We gave Ana several elements as a starting point – a flower, a petal, a branch, a bud, and a leaf – and a color palette within which we wanted to develop new designs.

These were not predefined patterns, but initial guidelines from which Ana developed her own compositions.

The simplicity of the basic elements opened up space for exploring their relationships, repetitions, and contrasts. From initial sketches, patterns gradually emerged, followed by their various color variants.

"The colors were perfectly to my taste, and the simplicity of the motif allowed for achieving strong contrast and striking appeal for the entire design."

We gave each collection its own name, as well as individual variants within it. Although individual variants share the same basic pattern, a change in the palette can significantly alter its character and how it works in an interior.

Thus, collections were created where Ana's illustrative approach meets Walls with Souls' idea that a wall should not be viewed merely as a surface to be decorated, but as an important part of the overall interior.

From illustration to space

Once the entire process is complete, the illustration is no longer just a drawing or a pattern on a screen. It becomes part of a space where someone will live, work, and spend their daily life.

What they will feel in that space, Ana does not want to predetermine.

"Beauty and emotional experience are individual, but I would like it to be an inner satisfaction and positive energy."

This is precisely where the entire creative process comes full circle – from the initial idea and composition, through color and rhythm, to the pattern that finds its final place on the wall.

And it is precisely this perspective on illustration and space that connected Ana's work with Walls with Souls.

Welcome to Walls with Souls, Ana.