Founded by renowned architect and designer Michael Graves, Michael Graves Design is the product division of, what is largely considered, one of the leading creatives behind the Postmodern art and design movement (even if Graves didn’t particularly consider himself a “postmodernist”). When assigned to choose a company and create a theoretical collection for them, Michael Graves Design seemed a profound choice due to its unique design language and legacy. Reflecting on its storied history, this collection takes inspiration from Graves’ iconic style to create patterns suitable for homeware and interiors.

When researching, preparatory drawings and gouache paintings were created to attempt emulating the unique characteristics of Graves’ sketch work. When trying to construct the drawn motifs into patterns, the result was not evocative of the desired era and level of “playful sophistication” rooted within the brand’s design. Shifting gears to focus on Graves’ colorblock, figure-ground reversal work (often seen in serigraphs) proved a more faithful direction and equally timeless.

Inspiration for the individual patterns came from across the brand, sometimes more obvious like product designs and the 9093 bird, while other times more unique like reinterpreting past carpet designs. All of the elements were drawn digitally, rather than constructed by use of vectors, in order to retain a sense of “hand” reminiscent of the analogue processes traditionally used.

The end result is a collection both new as it is old, and after creating these patterns I would love to use them as a jumping off point to create even simpler prints that still convey the sense of clever design Michael Graves, and Michael Graves Design, is known for.

-JA