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The Art of Creative Jewelry Design : Page 2 of 2

The Art of Creative Jewelry Design

continued from page 1

Although not all elements and principles of design are necessary in every composition, how you apply them determines how effective your design is in conveying the desired message or to evoke an emotional response and how attractive it appears.

Once you determine your personal design preferences you can begin to make use of the fundamentals of design to creatively express your ideas in your own distinct style. With practice, you will be able to easily evaluate pieces to determine whether or not they work and why.

Wearability

While designing your jewelry you also have to take "wearability" and "durability" into consideration. You could design a beautiful and unique piece of wearable art but if it is too heavy, too long, not long enough, too clunky, too chunky, too fragile, parts that easily catch on things or threads from clothing, scratchy edges, extremely difficult to get on or off, or can fall off the wearer too easily, then it is not really considered wearable or durable.

A well designed piece should move with the body, it should drape nicely and feel good when worn. The design should not put undue stress on any piece, component or section that would result in the jewelry breaking, bending or denting "before its time."

Design strategies must also anticipate whether the piece is to be worn daily or occasionally; expected to last a year, more than a year, a lifetime; to be worn in situations where there is little movement/activity by the wearer or a lot of movement/activity.

One of the most important factors to consider when designing your jewelry is the choice of materials, they can and probably will set the tone and chances of success for the piece.

The importance of quality should not be overlooked and should be the basis of your reputation. Some customers will give your product a quick inspection before they buy it; many others will inspect it carefully. The first thing that will attract them will be the design. If that appeals to them, they will go on to inspect the materials and workmanship.

Customer Appeal

Many jewelry designers feel that the most important part of a product is its price. Price is important, but before a customer asks how much, a tentative decision has already been made that it might be nice to have the particular jewelry piece. In other words the design has to catch the buyer's attention and appeal to him or her before they would be interested in purchasing it.

If the customer has absolutely no interest in buying or even owning your jewelry design piece, then it doesn't matter if it was ten dollars or one hundred dollars. Price follows the determination of need or desire to want the product.

Uniqueness, design, wearability, and quality is what will make your jewelry design stand out from the rest, but it must also appeal to the customer or it won't sell. The successful jewelry design is one that fits into the overall market, yet is distinctive enough to influence buyers, leading them in the decision to purchase it.

Remember that design is subject to taste and no one formula will guarantee a great look & feel. If there were one formula, all jewelry would look the same and design would not be a concern. •

© 2008 by Gloria-Jean Browne. All rights reserved.

Gloria-Jean BrowneGloria-Jean Browne's Beading Design Jewelry offers hundreds of ideas and tips to inspire you to design and create unique bead jewelry designs that will give you an edge in the market place. More »

6/10/08