One Container, Five Elements

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Led by Mark Pampling, Master Florist

An online course in five practical tasks and six online sessions

Understand what makes your designs work when they do, and what is missing when they don't.

Over six sessions, we'll close the gap between intuition and understanding, building a set of analytical habits that let us examine a design and say with some precision what is happening in it and why.

We'll come away with stronger skills we can apply to any brief, design or material.

We all sometimes reach a place where we feel a design isn't quite right, but can't always say why. A design looks almost resolved, but something is off. Something needs to change, but what?

So we continue by instinct, with a quiet hope that it will come together. It sometimes works but often doesn't. Either way, the problem and the solution both remain unclear - and we continue to find ourselves at the same uncertain point.

I aim to address this gap between feeling and understanding. Not by offering new techniques, or by teaching a particular style, but by building the analytical habits that allow us to look at our own work (or anyone's) and say with some precision what is happening in it and why.

In this course we work toward this goal one Element at a time. Line, Colour, Texture, Form and Space each have a session of their own, worked through in a single practical task, and discussed in detail before the next Element begins. Over the course of six sessions, we build a persistent way of seeing that long outlasts the course.

The choice of one container across the five tasks is a razor. It removes a major variable that can absorb attention. It's also a lens that lets us focus more acutely on each Element.

So a single container used repeatedly is not the same each time. Each Element through which we read it - Line, Colour, Texture, Form, then Space - reveals a unique and useable perspective.

Classical or modern, simple or ornate, surprising or subdued. Whether you even "like" the container isn't important.

What matters is not so much what container you choose, but that you choose a container.

And the choice of container itself is not critical. There is no "right" one. We'll cover it in the first lesson, where we'll discuss factors to consider, and I'll share tips based on my own and past students' experience.

Line

Before anything else, we look at what lines we can see in the container. Physical lines - curves, straight lines, parallels - and implied ones, too.

We notice how those lines are organised, and where the container's energy seems to move.

Then we respond: repeating a line system, contrasting it, extending it, or following the direction the container has set.

Colour

We start with the colours already present, and with the less obvious question of how strongly they speak.

A matte black, for example, reads differently from a glossy one, an earthy brown differently beside a cooler one.

From there we decide whether our reading of the container's colour is a starting point to extend, a neutral ground to work against, or something we must answer with deliberate contrast.

Texture

Texture is felt by the eye as much as by the hand. A smooth, polished surface amplifies colour and form; a rough or matte one subdues them.

We examine the container's textural character - its consistency, its grain, its relationship to light - and then consider how the materials we place near it will converse with it.

Texture rarely asks for repetition. More often it asks for a considered contrast, or a quiet echo.

Form

Form is the container's silhouette, its proportions, its presence in space. We analyse it as shape: is it symmetrical or asymmetrical, geometric or organic, does it have a dominant axis?

Then we decide how to respond - to mirror or extend it, to answer it with a contrasting silhouette, or to make it part of a larger formal statement.

Whatever decision we make, it is intentional.

Space

Space is the Element most designers reach last, and the one that most rewards careful analysis. We consider the container as something that shapes space as much as occupies it: where the space around it feels captured, and where it feels open.

We work with that, using density, transparency, grouping and separation, to make Space a deliberate part of the composition, rather than "what is leftover".

What One Container, Five Elements asks of us is attention: Three months to look carefully, to think about each Element and to examine how we make the decisions that shape our designing.

In return we gain an analytical skillset we can apply to any design challenge we meet - and, crucially, an instinct for looking carefully before we reach for a response.

This course is for floral designers and artists who have reached a point where they want to understand their own work more clearly.

Not necessarily to design differently, but to understand what makes their designs work when they do, and what is missing when they don't.

Some participants have been competing and teaching for decades, while others are at the beginning of a serious engagement with design.

What they have in common is a willingness to look analytically at their own work, to carefully consider feedback, and to give a task the time it needs - rather than the time it would take if hurried.

If what draws you here is a sense that there is something more to be found in your designs than you are currently seeing, and a willingness to spend three months learning how to see it, this course is for you.

What shapes this course is Mark' conviction that the most transformative thing a designer can learn is not a new technique or a style, but how the fundamental Elements of design interact, and how to analyse one's own work through them.

"What I am most passionate about in teaching is helping designers understand the fundamental Elements and Principles of design - and, crucially, how they interact. When someone grasps the power of these basics, it often sparks a lifelong pursuit of refinement and excellence. That moment of realisation can be genuinely transformative.

"I also believe that design is complex, and cannot be fully understood or integrated overnight. The skill to analyse a brief, respond to its requirements, and deliver a successful outcome in any context is essential to mastery. It is a skill that develops patiently, across many situations. This course is one of those situations."

Mark Pampling has been designing, competing, teaching and judging for thirty years now and is as well known for his clear, linear design style as for his patient and inclusive way of sharing his knowledge.

  • 2019 Beijing World Flower Art Contest – Champion
  • 2015 Interflora World Cup, Berlin – Judge
  • 2014 Fusion Flowers International Designer of the Year – 1st Place
  • 9th China International Orchid Show (Sanya) – Best Creative Award
  • 2014 International Flower Contest Japan – Best in Show, Gold Award and Design Innovation Award
  • Asia Cup 2014 (Japan) – 1st Place – Surprise Table Display
  • 2013 Fusion Flowers International Designer of the Year – 2 Silver Awards & 1 Bronze Award
  • 2012 Fusion Flowers International Designer of the Year – 4th Place
  • 2012 Interflora Australia Cup – Winner
  • 2011 Interflora Australia Cup – Winner
  • Australian Competitor 10th Interflora World Cup 2004 – 3rd Place

More about Mark here.

  • One Container Five Elements - August 2023 Online Course - { Flower Thinking }
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Flower Thinking

Select one container and create five compositions with it, each with a spotlight on one element of design and the various possible relationships between the chosen container and the elements. Tasks are followed by online discussions which can be joined live and/or watched again later. Tasks and discussions are spaced over an approximately five month period and encourage individual expression, creativity and resourcefulness.

The program timetable and detailed information on how to participate can be found in the Participation Guide.

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Let customers speak for us

from 80 reviews
"Designing to win" is a winner

The intriguing theme,"Uncommon threads", captured my attention and thinking. I initially thought this short course,"Designing to win", would be too challenging. I found that it was actually comprehensive, well organized and structured, and rewarding eventually. This course was about understanding the rules and schedule of a competition. It was about learning how to evaluate one's design for a competition against an essential list of marking criteria for judging. Mark conducted two virtual discussion forums fluently, meticulously and constructively by giving clear analysis with concise explanations. He posed questions and made suggestions on each participant's design in #1 submission. The task of improving/adjusting/changing in order to achieve a better outcome became the necessary challenge for #2 submission.
The learnings from all the other submissions was just as important as those of mine. After having completed this course, I gained a better understanding of the entire process of designing to win and the crucial decision making that hinged on the points/marks for judging. The "wow factor" which can contribute to winning can be achieved by more critical evaluation of a design. Learning to be a better designer is always my aim in participating in Mark's courses. I truly felt that I achieved it and it was a likely "win" for me. The instructional eBooks and video tutorials on competitions were valuable bonuses given after completion of the course.

Thank you, Mark, for this great opportunity to learn from you.

Lawrence Kwong
Designing to Win (Designer)

One Container, Five Elements expanded my design processes and choices. Analysing the container and looking for a link to each of the five elements. Focusing on one element was a disciplined journey, one that became more complex the further I travelled along the path, albeit a rewarding journey. On reflection it allowed me to consider my choices and to give each element of design a voice in my arrangements. I likened it to a choir where one voice may lead but if the supporting harmonies are not in pitch the whole auditory experience is not quite right. I found myself falling to my favourite elements and constantly self-evaluating to see what was often needed, often editing rather than adding. During the group feedback sessions, I gained new eyes not only on my own work but that of my peers. Such a rewarding experience.

David B
One Container Five Elements Online Course

Each task or assignment for this course pushes you to think more about placement of components in order to ensure that the elements and principles of design are used to create a harmonious result. Mark encourages creativity by providing examples before leaving you to work in your own way, this is incredibly stimulating. All feedback provided is done in a positive way which encourages you to assess your own work better each time - however I still manage to repeat some of the same faults over and again ;) so plenty more to learn.

Kath S
Design Directions Online Course

I really enjoyed the course and particularly found the critique process really helpful, as Mark carefully explained what worked well with the designs we had each produced and how they could potentially be improved further. At each stage, Mark explained how the design principles applied and helped me to develop my understanding of contemporary work.

Bhabetler1563
Design Directions Online Course

Yet another amazing floral learning opportunity by our incredible Mark Pampling and Flower Thinking. The experience of learning is outstanding with endless learning opportunities. This is not simply an online course, it is an interactive extremely detailed, deep learning opportunity. Thank you Flower Thinking - My designs from the course are pictured below. So much learning and adaptation creates a new awareness and thought process in design which I truly enjoyed.

Linda
Advanced Directions Online Course

Festive Thinking allowed me to expand my creativity. Mark’s ebooks and video explanations were clear and provided examples of the task. I throughly enjoyed creating with the sickles and the online forum. Mark expert advice and suggestions gives insights into the designer’s arrangements. This allows for self improvement and reflection on my own creation. A wonderful experience I look forward to the next Flower Thinking offering.

David B
Festive Thinking (Designer)