Designing Wallpaper

A creative method called Design

Etymologically, the term design has the same roots as the French words "dessin" but also "intention". Design therefore deals as much with shape, line, appearance as with utility, use or application. At the crossroads of art, technology and the human sciences, it's nowadays a fundamental way to think, create and built a lot of products, from everyday objects to digital applications or even planes...

Historically, design as a discipline began in the 20th century, at a time when industrialization was gradually replacing craftsmanship. More and more everyday objects have been produced by complex machines and processes, in larger or smaller series. The designer profession was born from the need to find the optimal shapes, volumes and conditions of use for any kindo of object. Design is therefore above all a creative method that takes place in several stages. The first step is to identify the contexts in which the object is used, to understand how it meets the needs of the end user. Different solutions, according to the technical constraints, are then imagined, and some are prototyped and tested. Once a prototype has been validated, the object can then be produced in series and distributed to users. The product may then be improved following the users feedbacks on a large scale to offer new versions in future series.

This short retrospective shows that design doesn't refer to a particular visual style. It is therefore very strange to talk about "designer furniture": A good design process, applied to furniture, can be applied to a variety of visual styles depending on fashion, time, context and place.

In this way, some theorists and designers separate the notions of design and style. However, in everyday language, the term design is sometimes used synonymously with "contemporary style" or "trend" and therefore refers to visual styles that vary with the times (a product considered as "design" in 2000 has surely lost its status today).

Wallpaper design, a short review of the main styles through history

Our patterns speak for themselves: the different visual styles of the last century are for us an immense source of inspiration and wonder. Here is a brief summary of the graphic trends that have marked the history of the decorative arts but also the history of wallpaper. Some of our patterns are directly inspired by it, others refer to it in a more subtle way. Please note that this is only a small introduction, the subject is extremely broad!

Wallpaper before the industrial revolution

Wallpaper was probably born in China, where painters illustrated very large surfaces of paper entirely by hand.
In Europe, wallpaper appeared from the 16th century, initially used on small surfaces intended to line the interior of furniture or for binding. Dominotery was the technology used. It was in the 17th and 18th centuries that wallpaper began to be installed on the walls and many factories appeared in France, England and Germany...

At that time, there were several trends:

• - The "chinoiseries", Western reinterpretations of Asian scenes
• - Antique inspired motifs representing pilasters, columns, vases, statues...
• - The arabesques, floral motifs (naturalistic or more baroque)

From about 1800 onwards, panoramic wallpapers appeared: complex works representing landscapes (exotic views, mountains, countryside...) on several strips to cover entire walls. From this point of view, our Nélio collection works in a similar way (although it is abstract).

The Arts & Crafts movement: Invention of applied arts

At the end of the 19th century, the Arts & Crafts movement was born in England. This marks a turning point in the decorative arts, initiating a philosophy of innovation and research into new shapes. To sum up this style, mainly represented by William Morris, we can say that it revisits medieval Gothic art while taking inspiration from the shapes of nature. Graphically, some productions are similar to pre-Raphaelite painters, such as Burne-Jones.

Art nouveau and Art deco: From vegetal to geometry

Art nouveau developed from the 1900s onwards, following up Arts & Crafts. Taking plants as main source of inspiration, many floral patterns, with fluid and intertwined lines, will be drawn by several artists throughout Europe. The colours and lines are quite light.

From 1910/1915 onwards, Art Deco re-invited geometry into motifs and layouts, gradually producing increasingly refined and abstract creations. The transition between art nouveau and art deco having taken place gradually, there are many artistic creations that belong to both styles.

Modernism: The material above all

Modernism, mainly driven by architecture, industry and the heritage of the various avant-garde artists of the early 1930s, reached its peak in the 1930s and marked a major break in the history of arts and technologies. Le Corbusier, the Bauhaus, De Stijl and many other creators have redefined the place and role of the decorative arts. Favouring functionality, clarity, geometry, modern architecture separates from decoration and favours raw materials and colour to the detriment of patterns. The wallpaper then develops effects of materials and textures, some minimalist geometrical patterns and a monochrome hue.

1950s: The reappearance of patterns

The 1950s marked the reappearance of patterns, both figurative and abstract. Classical subjects such as flowers and plants are renewed in the light of visual experiments in 20th century art. Artists such as Matisse, Léger, Dufy, Delaunay, inspire spontaneous and colourful designs.

1970s: Psychedelic, exuberance, kinetic art and optical art

The 1970s were marked above all by the predominance of a very particular colour range, with shades of ochre, orange, yellow and brown.
In terms of patterns, two styles of graphic design coexisted:

• - Exuberant floral compositions, with many rounded shapes, sometimes reinterpreting the young hours of Art Nouveau, even Arts & Crafts.
• - Abstract geometric motifs, directly derived from the artistic movement of optical art and kinetic art, playing with optical illusions and visual surprises.

80s: The eccentricity of the Memphis style

Recently back in trends, this style was born under the impetus of the famous designer Ettore Sottsass in the early 1980s. Resolutely linked to Pop Art aesthetics, Memphis has brought experimentation, spontaneity and a certain playful approach to furniture design and decoration. From a graphic point of view, the basic geometric shapes (circle, triangle, lines, dots) are associated with a palette of textureless flat bright colours.

Of course, there would be many other movements and substyles to talk about, if we wanted to establish an exhaustive list. More over, this introduction only tries to sum up the european wallpaper design history. Many other visual trends appeared and have developed in parallel in different world cultures.