Ink and Wash

This is the most restrained thing in the catalogue and the one designers keep picking.

Ink and wash is two decisions. First, the drawing: a black brush pen, varied line weight, a small number of confident strokes rather than a large number of careful ones. Lines are left open in places so your eye closes the shape itself. Second, the colour: a single muted wash laid over the top, deliberately allowed to sit slightly outside the lines, the way it does when someone is working quickly and well.

What makes it modern is the discipline. There is no scene, no costume, no background, no gradient. Just your pet, drawn, on off white paper. It hangs happily beside architectural prints, photography and plain typography, which is why it tends to end up in home offices and hallways rather than living rooms.

It is also the style that survives being small. A lot of portraits need scale to work; this one reads perfectly at eight by ten on a shelf, because the information is in the linework rather than in fine detail.

The single colour is chosen from your pet's own coat, so a ginger cat gets a warm rust wash and a grey dog gets a cool slate one. That keeps the piece connected to the animal instead of becoming a generic illustration.