When we talk about the spatial pattern, what we're talking about is how your shapes look within your home or area. These patterns can be very rigid and formal, like with classic geometric lines and shapes such as squares and dots, or they can be more organic and fluid, using circles and curves to create designs.

There are two types of spatial patterns that you will encounter in interior design — organized patterns and unstructured ones. An example of an organized pattern would be putting together pieces of furniture in a room that have a lot of symmetry, for instance, a table with matching chairs or a wall painted in a color scheme that repeats itself.

An example of an unorganized pattern would be throwing all kinds of items into a room without any sense of structure or organization. A room full of plants is an easy way to see this! Plants are great insulators, which means they help keep things warmer or cooler depending on the temperature around them.

This article will go over some examples of both organized and unorganized spatial patterns and what effects each one creates.

Different types of spatial patterns

A pattern that is repeated or structured in space is called a spatial pattern. There are three main categories for defining what constitutes a spatial pattern.

The first is an organized repetition, such as lines or shapes that repeat throughout a surface or area. This is one way to describe checkerboards — all-or-nothing patterns made up of solid white or solid black squares. Or how about those striped blankets with alternating stripes? They create a vertical line down the center and horizontal lines at each edge.

Another example would be the waves rolling onto a beach from the tide. These oscillating curves take up space and go away from each other, creating a repeating structure.

The third type of spatial pattern is something that moves across the place you are looking at. A moving object like a boat traveling along the water is one example of this. Such patterns are often referred to as flow patterns.

Obliquely oriented bands

Another pattern called obliquely oriented bands is seen when there are horizontal or vertical lines in a pattern, but not both at the same time. These bands occur along diagonals of the shape being analyzed.

Obliquely oriented bands can be seen clearly in this pattern-counting map!

You may have noticed them before when looking at patterns such as checkerboards or honeycomb shapes. That’s because they relate to something about how light interacts with materials.

When you put together different colors and textures of material, it produces an effect where some parts reflect more light than others. This difference in reflection creates a boundary between areas that are lighter and darker than their surroundings.

This happens when the light comes into contact with the border between two different color shades or layers of material. Because light bounces off these boundaries, we see the banding effect instead of a smooth transition.

Obliquely oriented lines

Another important spatial pattern is called an oblique line or parallelogram. This happens when two objects are lined up along a common axis, but one object shifts away from the other.

This creates an angled shape that we call a parallelogram. An example of this would be if you took both sides of your car and pushed one side out farther than the other. The car's edge becomes more angular as it gets further away.

Oblique lines can also occur naturally in plants and trees or through design. For instance, studying plant patterns will show you how some plants grow tall with their center and then lean inward to form a circle or spherical bulb.

These shapes are examples of parallelograms where the inner part leans closer together while the outside parts pull apart creating a circular pattern.

Diagonal bands

In pattern terms, diagonal banding is when there are horizontal or vertical lines that run for several rows in a grid-like fashion. These patterns occur more frequently than parallel bandings (where everything lines up as a row), but they're not very common.

Diagonal banding was one of our favorite patterns to learn here at Fun With Patterns. They're interesting to watch because you can see how their shape-shifts as you scroll down your screen.

They also create an attractive effect when you go from large to small screens, since you get the feel of something wider before it gets narrower!

This article will talk about some of the theories about why people add these patterns to their sites, and what types of diagonals make the most sense for different situations.

Diagonal lines

Diagonal, or diagonal patterning, is when lines are inclined at an angle other than 90 degrees. These patterns are referred to as diagonals because they create a shape that resembles a triangle with two of its sides shorter and one longer.

Diagonally lined shapes are usually found in nature and can be seen everywhere from tree trunks to bones. Some examples include sunsets, cliffs, dry valleys, mountains, and even faces!

Many artists use diagonals frequently in drawing and painting. They say that it helps bring focus onto your intended target and distracts viewer attention away from unimportant areas.

There are many styles using diagonals including Abstract, Minimalist, and Folk Art. Some say that looking at the style of art influenced by diagonals can help you develop yours.

Stripe patterns

A stripe pattern is when you can see the difference in color between a shape or object and its surrounding area. For example, if lines are going down one side of a rectangle, that would create a striped effect.

This is called a parallel pattern. It creates an interesting look because it draws your eye along the direction of the stripes.

Striped textures are very popular right now and many designers use them frequently. They add depth to designs by adding visual texture.

Overall, designing with patterns is fun and never gets boring! There are limitless ways to do it. You can learn some new tricks here.

Herringbone patterns

Another pattern that can be seen in nature is called herding or hiring patterns. This happens when animals gather together in large numbers and spread out to form groups or herds. For example, grazing cows create an area with parallel lines of bodies all moving in the same direction.

When this happens, some individuals are more likely to stick around for another reason. They find it easier to travel in an organized group than alone. It may also be because they recognize other members of the herd as familiar faces, making them feel safer.

This concept applies to people too! Teams of professionals go about their jobs like a bunch of cars traveling down a highway. Once you become part of the team, it’s easy to stay due to familiarity and consistency.

It works well in things like schools where teachers organize themselves into classes and departments. Or companies that have separate teams working on different projects under one boss.

In these cases, individual members of the team spend most of their time interacting only with others on their team, not outside of it. This creates a bubble effect that protects them from external influences.

I know from experience. I worked at a company in my first year after college where almost everyone was in the marketing department. During my second year there, someone new came in and asked me what our strategy was.

He was so baffled by how we approached our job he could barely keep up.