Textile colourist to textile designer
A textile colourist already meets 37% of what the textile designer role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
64.8/ 100
1 How much of what a textile designer is expected to do is already part of a textile colourist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the textile designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A textile designer role treats 7 of its required skills as things a textile colourist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- design yarns
- draw sketches to develop textile articles
- draw sketches to develop textile articles using softwares
- portfolio management in textile manufacturing
- seek innovation in current practices
- textile marketing techniques
What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A textile designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a textile colourist background worth leading with.
- already held design yarns communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held textile marketing techniques business, administration and law
- already held develop textile colouring recipes handling and moving
- already held draw sketches to develop textile articles communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held portfolio management in textile manufacturing engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held draw sketches to develop textile articles using softwares working with computers
All 10 carried skills, including the 7 the textile designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn distinguish accessories required
- still to learn distinguish fabrics required
- still to learn gather reference materials for artwork required
- still to learn keep up to date on costume design required
- still to learn measure yarn count required
- still to learn create mood boards required
- still to learn design warp knit fabrics required
- still to learn design weft knitted fabrics required
- still to learn design woven fabrics required
- still to learn properties of textile materials required
- still to learn textile printing technology required
- optional, not held challenging issues in the textile industry optional
- optional, not held knitting machine technology optional
- optional, not held nonwoven machine technology optional
- still to learn decorate textile articles required
- optional, not held use warp knitting technologies optional
- optional, not held design management optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a textile designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 create mood boards practise this
- 02 decorate textile articles practise this
- 03 design warp knit fabrics practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held design yarns skill
- already held draw sketches to develop textile articles skill
- already held draw sketches to develop textile articles using softwares skill
- already held portfolio management in textile manufacturing knowledge
- already held seek innovation in current practices skill
- already held textile marketing techniques knowledge
- already held use textile technique for hand-made products skill
- already held develop textile colouring recipes skill
- already held dyeing technology knowledge
- already held textile chemistry knowledge
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held challenging issues in the textile industry optional
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held knitting machine technology optional
- optional, not held nonwoven machine technology optional
- optional, not held use warp knitting technologies optional
3 held skills the textile designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role conduct textile testing operations skill
- not needed by the target role maintain work standards skill
- not needed by the target role prepare equipment for textile printing skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn properties of textile materials required
- still to learn textile printing technology required
- optional, not held challenging issues in the textile industry optional
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held knitting machine technology optional
- optional, not held nonwoven machine technology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a textile colourist become a textile designer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A textile colourist already covers 37% of what a textile designer is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 7 of which the textile designer role treats as required.
What skills does a textile colourist need to become a textile designer?
12 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is create mood boards.
How hard is the move from textile colourist to textile designer?
Its learning distance is 64.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.