The relationship between Graphic Design and Interior Design

The idea of the home being a space for rest, a space where we go to with our family and ultmiately a space to call our own is nothing new. The interior and choice of one such place has become very personal. Over recent decades, its has been obvious that we have become more house proud and certainly in Ireland, the introcution of affordable but chic interior design options and furniture means we have become way more AWARE.

I am a Graphic Designer but I started my life out studying Interior Design and the very basis of designs for spaces. I learnt the meaning of Form Follows Function, a theory supported by the Bauhaus designers and specifically Walter Gropius. Its very clear how this theory work in the world of furniture design and yet this influence has bled seemlessly into Graphic Design.

We Graphic Designers, take our clients brief and create decent designs that follow the requests and function the client wants and this is at the very core of all design work. This is the skeleton of the designwork. However, what I’m more intersed is the flesh on these bones! The connection between whats going on in Interiors and its impact on Graphic Design is almost obvious but just not quite.

Most recently I have been getting my colour palette influences from Farrow and Ball. The recent upsurge in greys and how there are various differnt types of greys cannot be ignored. I’m thinking about the tones available: warm grey, cold, vibrant, calm, green greys, all of these new colours and their application in an understated piece of design. The reflection from interior walls to printed work or indeed, digital work has seen the influence of interior design become way more important than consumers realise.

This is sublimal design. A designer who is watching the trends can notice this without even being conscious of it. Its something to watch for the next few decades and see where this colour palette with its functional form will take us.