Our Design of the Month for October is by Kerry Thomson and comes from our Advanced Directions course, which is currently underway. Kerry’s compact and abundant composition was created for Task 3, which asked for a low, parallel design with very shallow depth.

On the final evening of the World Cup program in Manchester, the five Finalists gathered on stage for the last task - a surprise item. Each competitor was asked to decorate a structure in celebration of Interflora UK’s centenary.

The structure contained cut out numbers (1-0-0) and fairy lights, and a suite of other materials, including Oasis FibreForal bricks as a mechanic.

After 45 minutes the final competition rankings were set. Unusually, the competitors were not required to clear or clean their workspaces, leaving them to use every second of the available time to secure their place in the competition results.

A rare occurrence was seen at the World Cup Gala Dinner - just before the announcement of the latest winner, there were seven previous Interflora World Champions in the room. They gathered together on stage for a nostalgic photo opportunity. Will we ever see such a lineup of Champions again?

More information about each of the designers and their achievements can be found at the Interflora UK World Cup History page.

Learn more by using less variety - are you up for the challenge? Create four distinct designs, working with two botanicals almost exclusively. Learn to fully utilise the principles of floral design as your primary problem solving tools. Become your own coach, critic and mentor with Design Solutions - starting THIS WEEK, on Wednesday, 18th October.

Abundance in material variety can be a distraction from the work of applying design principles. Design Solutions strips away the distraction, making us more adept at using the elements and principles to solve design problems.

I have found that I can improve improve as a designer when I’m able to analyse my own work and to become practised at finding my own mistakes. I’m able to improve my skills overall when I assess my work objectively through the principles of floral design and find the flaws, and then find some solutions. It's a journey that never ends, and keeps on giving.

In Design Solutions earlier this year I chose to work with Carnations (Dianthus) and Syngonium leaves (Syngonium) - in the process of creating an arrangement, a bridal bouquet, a wreath and an overlapping design (see the images below).

Working with such a constrained palette of materials pushed me to dig deep for insights into how the principles of design can be applied.