Caroline Pratt is a Leeds-based designer, printmaker and creative producer working across surface design, education and research.
Caro’s studio practice looks to build collaborative projects, that help cultural organisations and the wider creative industries explore colour, pattern and process in thoughtful and engaging ways.
Her work is rooted in a love of printmaking and drawing, with a particular interest in the value of heritage techniques and analogue approaches within contemporary surface design.
Through technical exploration and research, she investigates the spaces where theory meets practice, believing these intersections can unlock new ways of thinking, seeing and connecting with the world.
She is committed to mindful and sustainable approaches to making, where the crafting of surfaces and narratives becomes a way of encouraging more thoughtful and resilient design.
Caroline combines hands-on processes, research and collaboration to create work that is both joyful and conceptually driven.
Creative Approach & Specialisms.
Caro’s practice brings together printmaking, drawing and colour exploration with research and conceptual development.
She values heritage processes as a foundation for contemporary design, using them as a way to reflect on sustainability, craftsmanship and materiality. By balancing technical skill with curiosity and critical thinking, she creates work that is both rooted in tradition and open to fresh perspectives.
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Specialisms include:
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Printmaking - heritage and contemporary processes.
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Colour - theory, palette development and semiotics.
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Drawing and Collage - as research and visual enquiry.
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Surface & Pattern - for textiles and interiors.
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Craft & Concept - balancing technical skill with critical ideas.
Values & Sustainability.
Caro’s practice is underpinned by a commitment to sustainability and mindful production.
She integrates heritage printmaking processes with contemporary design thinking, promoting approaches that reduce waste, value materials and prioritise longevity.
She is Carbon Literacy trained and embeds these principles into her studio work, teaching and collaborative projects.
Academic Research & Talks.
With 15+ years working as a Senior Lecturer in Printed Textiles and Surface Design at Leeds Arts University and a variety of visiting lecturing roles at other institutions; Caro has developed a research profile that runs in tandem with her design practice, exploring colour, links between nature, wellbeing and design, heritage processes, and sustainable pathways for creative employment. Her work spans publications, exhibitions, and academic symposia, engaging both scholarly and creative audiences.
Selected highlights:
Professional membership: Academic Fellow of Advance HE
Conference presentations:
Sustainable pathways for Creative Employment.
Learning, Teaching & Enhancement Conference, Leeds Arts University (2023).
Connections between natural and commercial colour systems.
The Power of Colour; Textile Society Conference, Manchester (2019).
Promoting cross-curricular thinking and making skills within schools.
Futurescan 4: Valuing Practice, University of Bolton (2019). Submitted for REF21.
Rethinking textile production frameworks with Biophilic principles.
Activating Biophilic Cities Conference, University of Greenwich (2018).
Publications:
Russell, A (2021) The Fundamentals of Printed Textile Design. Bloomsbury. Image credit.
Style, B (2010) Print & Pattern. Laurence King. Image credit.
That's enough about us - why not get in touch and tell us about you!?
There are lots of ways we could work together so why not get in touch for a chat?
If you'd prefer to send a direct email please send your message to hello@carolinepratt.co.uk