Tartan Design - The Africa-Scotland Tartan
The design process for a tartan is always fun and challenging, and Africa-Scotland was no exception. We have over 130 tartans, designed to bring countries, cultures and communities together. Our founder, David McGill, worked with embassies, consulates and diaspora to design many tartans, so collaboration has always been really important to us.
The tartan was the vision of Claire from Africa Scotland Business Network, and we worked closely from the start despite being based nearly 10,000 kilometres apart. The base colours are the navy and purple of the brand, that also reflect those of Scotland where the founders are from. The thin pink stripe represents progressive female leadership that has propelled ASBN to where it is today. The golden thread running through the sett represents the African Continent – it’s prosperity, vibrancy and hopes for the future.
The process was very collaborative and Claire and I went back and forward with designs and ideas for months. At one point, Claire even sent me a photo of of her tartan dress, saying she ‘loved the complexity of the design’ so that became an inspiration for the sett.
These ideas translated into a digital design to be sent to the Mill at House of Edgar. Translating the digital to the woven includes matching physical yarns to colours on a screen and ensuring the sett is correct. The whole process can take 10 -12 weeks so it certainly isn’t quick. However, at the end of it all ASBN has something tangible that reflects the vibrancy of the organization. The cloth has been made into waistcoats, a gorgeous sash, scarves and ties. The digital design is used in presentations, digital communications, social media, the website and more. We attended their 80th International Business Leaders event in Edinburgh last week, and the tartan provided an impressive backdrop to proceedings – draped over the podium, part of the digital presentations and worn by the founders.
So we’re very pleased to have played a part in creating a tartan for ASBN and it’s community, and we hope it will be telling the story for many years to come.