Designing vinyl liner patterns

A constantly evolving process with new influences every season

Pool & Spa Magazine January 2009 Feature By David Sones

Being a designer of vinyl liner swimming pool patterns is definitely a challenge. Not only does the designer need to be aware of the latest in backyard design concepts and products, but they also have to create something fresh and unique that can be reproduced on vinyl sheeting. The process is constantly evolving with new influences every season. Staying on top of these influences, getting feedback from the marketplace and being aware of long lead times involved in creating these patterns, all affect what new vinyl liner patterns will be available in the coming season. The overall move away from blue on blue patterns has allowed designers to experiment with colour. However, designers still need to stay in the realm of natural colours and earth tones to complement the backyard décor. Backyard fashion and colours play a large role in pattern creations.

Backyard fashion: The design trends of upscale backyard furniture have had a huge influence on vinyl pool liner patterns. Outdoor furniture has been transformed from simple, plastic lawn chairs to furniture with softer edges and big cushions that look like it belongs indoors. The new decorative look vinyl pattern designs have grown out of this recent trend.
Although overall colours are still quite natural, designers are using more yellow, gold and even more red (though muted), which has definitely been influenced by the fabrics and colours used in today's backyard furnishings.
Construction materials/designs: The move away from simple, concrete decks to patios and decks using granite, slate, pavers and coloured stamped concrete treatments has also influenced both the colour and design of vinyl liner patterns.
With builders now using mountain-scape designs, which include rock waterfalls, they need liner patterns that complement these features. Builders and consumers want patterns to blend into the backyard landscape, so an increasing number of liners have been created to look more like large rock borders with the effect of moving right out of the water and into the deck above.

Regional Influences: Different regions of the country have different design demands as well. One popular pattern, for example, is the Miramar. A grey version of this pattern has done very well in the United States, while a pearl version (with more yellow, red and pink tones) has done much better in Canada. Although the pattern is pleasing overall, different colour schemes based on regional preferences and construction materials affect the colouration of a vinyl pool liner pattern.


Complementary markets: Vinyl liner designers also take into account what is working in other decorative markets such as tile, wallpaper, decking and roofing--including details such as colours and textures. They realize patterns must have the ability to co-ordinate with what is popular in the overall marketplace.
The Design Process: Often designs are not planned out. Instead they evolve during the creative process. Initial ideas and concepts are presented to the fabricators of the liners who in turn present the patterns to their leading builders and retailers in the field. The designer then takes the feedback they receive and continues to refine the designs.

On display Manufacturers of vinyl sheeting such as Canadian General Tower in Cambridge, Ont., hold special showings of pattern ideas in a showcase at the beginning of each year for fabricators in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Fabricators then take these concepts and present them to their pool builders, dealers and retailers through their own showings. This showcase opens up the design process and makes it more dynamic--with customers being involved in the outcome of the process.
Sometimes changes are as simple as adjusting the colour of the liner. For example, a fabricator may admire a particular pattern, although a different colour scheme may be required to meet the regional colour demands of their marketplace. Other reasons, for change can happen when the designer is told a new synthetic coping, which imitates stone overhanging into the pool area can drastically affect the outcome of the pattern--especially if the pattern is not going to be seen at the top. This has led to the creation of taller patterns, which are not affected by popular construction techniques.
The marketplace is always looking for something new and fresh--so innovation is key, however, sometimes a pattern can be too fresh, or a season ahead of an accepted trend.
Designers need to be aware of the reference points consumers have when accepting a new pattern concept, and sometimes what designers create is too far ahead of a trend--so it is not easily accepted in the marketplace.

The design process changes every year and what was done last year cannot be done this year, although based on customer feedback, designers take some aspects of what has worked in previous years and incorporate them in new designs. Designers take the criticism and feedback they receive and adjust their designs accordingly.
One of the more difficult aspects of the job is ensuring the designs on paper can be perfectly reproduced on vinyl. Translating pattern designs from typical design software to the software used in the vinyl printing process is an enormous process and is not an easy task. Everything has to be translated, which takes time, people and attention to detail.
The Implementation Process: Not only must a pattern that has been accepted on paper be able to be reproduced on vinyl once, it must be capable of being reproduced from roll to roll and lot to lot.

Each pattern, selected for printing, requires a unique engraved cylinder at an expense of several thousand dollars per cylinder. Also involved in this process is a team of individuals on the manufacturing floor who ensure the pattern is printable and in register (not blurry), while another team of experts in inks and colour matching translate the paper design to the machinery that prints on the pattern onto the vinyl. Most importantly, all of the printing has to be durable and capable of withstanding the normal wear and tear of a swimming pool liner including chemicals and ultraviolet rays from sunlight.
The entire implementation process is potentially long and can take several months for a single pattern design. However, all the vinyl must be printed and ready to ship prior to the building season--so deadlines are always tight. Designers need to always keep the implementation process in mind when creating new designs for the industry.

What the future holds In contrast to past years, when the pool liner market saw greater use of glass and ceramic tile, this year the use of natural stone with other natural textures and/or a porous look have become quite popular.
The Hamilton tile pattern, for example, will be the new design available in 2009. It has a larger tile repeat and is distinct, featuring a continuous mosaic design using earth tones on a cobblestone floor. This pattern was the result of a request for a continuous serpentine, as it is popular for the way it looks in the pool. A more square shape was added to the design, moving away from traditional curves.

During the design stages, it was discovered the pattern needed to be recreated on a much larger scale. This became a technical challenge due to the large repeated pattern, as normally a tile pattern design repeats every 228 mm (9 in) and sometimes two, 228 mm (9 in) repeats are made with subtle differences. This design, however, carries through the entire 457 mm (18 in) and the end result is a unique, dramatic vinyl liner pattern.
The base colour of the vinyl liner's pattern is also a design element that comes and goes with trends. Early swimming pool liner designs used an aqua and baby blue base film on which the pattern was printed. Today, there is greater use of white base film to allow the colours to stand out more vividly within the pattern. Another popular base film colour for 2009 is tan as it gives patterns a different look that stands out from other patterns.
Having builders and fabricators actively involved throughout the design process helps ensure the market is getting vinyl liner patterns that match today's backyard and construction techniques.

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