Ridgways, "Kensington," 1886.

While the majority of famous Aesthetic artists and designers, with the notable exception of Christopher Dresser, did not produce patterns for the transferware market, the popularity of Aetheticism had a huge impact on transferware design.

Inspiration for pattern designs followed the trends in Aesthetic art, drawing from Asian art and design (particularly that of Japan), the art and literature of Ancient Greece and the Middle Ages, and the natural world.

Like early Aesthetic art, many early (or later lesser-skilled) patterns merely incorporated the Japanese-inspired linear, asymmetrical, geometric, and natural motifs of Aestheticism with little thought to the overall composition. Over time, however, many Aesthetic transferware designs became more sophisticated, demonstrating a greater understanding of the design aesthetic from which they drew inspiration.