The ability to make custom patterns is quite helpful but learning how to make patterns that repeat seamlessly in Illustrator makes it even better. Patterns that will show where the edges repeat may ...

Remember the graph paper you used at school, the kind that’s covered with tiny squares? It’s the perfect illustration of what mathematicians call a “periodic tiling of space”, with shapes covering an ...

Remember the graph paper you used at school, the kind that's covered with tiny squares? It's the perfect illustration of what mathematicians call a "periodic tiling of space", with shapes covering an ...

When I think of patterns, the first thing that comes to mind is fabric. While Seamless Studio ($49, 15-day free trial) can certainly generate beautiful patterns for anything from blankets to ...

Is it possible to tile a surface with a single shape in such a way that the pattern never repeats itself? In 2022, a mathematical solution to this 'Einstein problem' was discovered for the first time.

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. If you want to tile a bathroom floor, square tiles are the simplest option—they fit together without any gaps in a grid pattern that can ...