Style combination · Pairs well

Batik Pattern Tradition × Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth

Both reserve the motif against a dyed ground (wax resist versus painted mud); combine the two for earthy negative-pattern surfaces.

From the research on Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth

Mix them and make something Batik Pattern Tradition Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Batik Pattern Tradition, their arrangement from Batik Pattern Tradition, the finish from Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Batik Pattern Tradition Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth

Type from Batik Pattern Tradition
Colour from Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth: Earth & mineral
Dark ground
Form from Batik Pattern Tradition: Abundant decoration
Biomorphic curves
Composition from Batik Pattern Tradition: All-over field
Horror vacui
Surface from Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth: Flat

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Batik Pattern Tradition

Fiesta

Rakkas, standing in for Arabic calligraphy of batik besurek (Bengkulu) and Cirebon

Text · Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth

The mud-dyed cotton cloth of the Bamana and other Malian peoples, in which the ground rather than the motif is painted: cloth dyed yellow with n'gallama leaves is covered around each sign with fermented iron-rich mud, and the unpainted signs are then bleached pale. Worn by hunters and by women after initiation and childbirth, it became a national emblem of Mali from about 1980 and spread through Groupe Bogolan Kasobané, Chris Seydou's fashion and stencilled export cloth.

Archivo; Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth used Bògòlan sign repertoire used as a glyph set and Irregular hand-painted sans capitals when text must accompany bògòlan-derived graphics

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth, with a counter-accent from Batik Pattern Tradition. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Batik Pattern Tradition Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth

#2b1d14 ground · 36%
#e9dcc0 ink · 14%
#c99a3b accent · 18%
#a6322b accent · 14%
#2c6aa0 accent · 10%
#6b3e1e accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #2b1d14;
  --ink: #e9dcc0;
  --accent-1: #c99a3b;
  --accent-2: #a6322b;
  --accent-3: #2c6aa0;
  --accent-4: #6b3e1e;
  --font-display: "Rakkas", cursive;
  --font-text: "Archivo", sans-serif;
}

Use it with care

Batik Pattern Tradition: Batik is inscribed by UNESCO as Indonesian intangible cultural heritage (2009), and some court motifs such as parang rusak were historically reserved for royalty and carry philosophical meanings. Learn a motif's meaning before using it, credit the region and makers, and do not market printed batik-look fabric as hand-drawn or stamped batik.

Bògòlanfini Mud Cloth: Bògòlan motifs carry named references to Bamana history, proverbs, myths and animals such as the crocodile, and cloths worn by hunters and by women after initiation or childbirth were believed to protect and to absorb dangerous forces. Learn what a pattern refers to before using it, do not sell printed 'mudcloth' pattern as hand-made bògòlan, and commission, credit or collaborate with Malian makers (for example in Kolokani and Bamako workshops) rather than copying their cloths.