Setting to one side Pugin's mission to reform and purify design in three and two dimensions, to create a corpus of design compatible with the intensity and seriousness of his faith, in formal terms he was a master of flat pattern design, the weighting and juxtaposition of colours, the balance of negative and positive shapes, and the control of repeat patterns.

The Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume provided a sure guide to how things should look. Another influential source with more of a biting satirical edge was Pugin's CONTRASTSof 1841 (selected plates).