Pre-contact–present · Haida Gwaii, Pacific Northwest Coast, British Columbia, Alaska
Haida / Northwest Coast
Also known as Northwest Coast Formline, Pacific Northwest Tribal, Haida Tattoo
Tattooing in the Northwest Coast formline idiom—black-and-red ovoids and U-forms composing crest animals like raven, eagle, and bear.
Original specimen, not a historical artifactOriginal specimen evoking the Haida / Northwest Coast look. Owned; source: Design Style Book (original).
About the style
Haida and broader Northwest Coast tattooing applies the region's distinctive formline design system to the skin, a tradition tied to crest animals and clan identity among peoples such as the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian. Formline is a highly disciplined visual language built from a continuous swelling-and-tapering black 'formline' that frames standardized shapes: the ovoid (a rounded rectangle), the U-form, and the S-form, with secondary red accents and negative space carrying as much weight as the line. Tattoos depicted family crests, raven, eagle, bear, killer whale, frog, marking lineage and status, the same crests carved on poles and painted on regalia. After suppression during colonial assimilation eras, the practice has been revived by contemporary Indigenous artists. It is recognized by its bold black formline, paired red secondary shapes, symmetrical crest animals, and the clean ovoid-and-U vocabulary.
Notable examples
- ▸Bill Reid — Haida formline art (design lineage)
- ▸Robert Davidson — contemporary Haida formline
- ▸Northwest Coast crest designs, UBC Museum of Anthropology
Anatomy of Haida / Northwest Coast
The numbered markers call out the design elements that define this style. Hover or tap a marker to see its breakdown.
Original specimen, not a historical artifactOriginal specimen evoking the Haida / Northwest Coast look. Owned; source: Design Style Book (original).
A formline raven head fills the upper-left, defined by a bold ovoid eye and a swelling black outline.
A large ovoid with an inner eye sits upper-right, the foundational shape of all formline design.
A series of red and black U-forms in the lower-left builds a stylized wing or fin.
A mirror-symmetric killer-whale tail anchors the lower-right in paired black-and-red formline.
Describe it like this
Prompt-ready vocabulary for describing or re-creating the Haida / Northwest Coast look. Tap a word to collect it in Designdeas.