iOrnament – Artful Science in a Fun Creative App

Combines art with science!

Looking for a drawing app like no other? Then look to iOrnament. Created by Professor Jurgen Richter-Gerbert, as an accumulation of software programs written and updated over 25 years, this app takes drawing to a whole new level of creation.

It skillfully and effortlessly combines art with science, without letting users know about it. The app’s main feature is the ability to draw patterns, as unique and ornate or as simple as you wish. You can take a drawing and tessellate it across the screen, melding it with another pattern in a collaboration of design and color. You can take a pattern and place it on an object, to see how it looks. Get more functional and use this app as an interior designer to see how a pattern and color combination will look on items around the house by placing the pattern on 3-D objects of similar shapes.

You create a pattern by first drawing an image by hand. The app then takes the image and repeats it in a way that either you can choose, or you can have the app choose for you. When you start a design, the app suggests two colors, to which you can add more. It spreads across the screen repeating colors and designs that you pick. You can then go in and edit the pattern by making certain lines bolder and thicker and other areas more blurred.

Once you are done, there is an in-app upload function that places your creation in a world gallery for all to see. You can even check out the world gallery for some inspiration. The fun things about the gallery is you get to see where each posted pattern comes from, because it is shown on a world map.

Designs and patterns can be just for fun or be used for something functional. You may be looking for a pattern to put on a club poster or t-shirt or as a backdrop. For the youngest of users, this app is a great way to keep eyes fixated and fingers busy. Toddler will have great fun tapping and touching and swiping away with colors galore and images aplenty.

The fun does not stop there. Since iOrnament was created by a mathematical mind, you get the added benefit of a little education in the app. There are mini-tutorials that talk about the mathematics behind several geometric patterns that are offered as starting points in the app. Many of these patterns are quite popular around the world, and the tutorial explains their origins and meanings.

So, not only can you create imaginative and unique designs, you can also learn about where they may have been used in the past and the purpose they may have served. This is great for art or science teachers, or just for satisfying the minds of the curious.

There is not much negative to say about the app except that since you have to pay for it, many may not deem it worth the purchase. Further creative marketing on more functional uses for the app may increase interest in it and increase downloads, as well.

Outside of that, it is certainly a fun and creative way to draw and create.