Nature is replete with patterns and textures, in something as simple as a cell to something as complex as the macrocosm. There is order in nature which scientists through the centuries have sought to explain in mathematical terms. Patterns are found in trees, flowers, snowflakes, shells, tigers, birds, and countless more. Textures are found everywhere in nature too, in light-reflecting surfaces like glass, metal or silk, and light-absorbing ones like wood, wool or stone. Man has derived inspiration from all these and have used them in quotidian things to elevate them from insipid to imaginative.

In fashion, architecture and design, patterns and textures are being used to give depth, character and interest.