June 2008
Shaw Contract Group designers identify seven emerging trends and experiment with unexpected materials in Design Lab, the result of a year-long exploration of the shape, pattern and eco-effectiveness of things to come.
Design Lab is unbound by convention. It represents Shaw Contract Group’s focus on constant innovation, exploration of new materials, unique manufacturing techniques and building upon the needs of its customers. The design trends of tomorrow and how they may impact carpet is the concept of Design Lab, which debuts in the Shaw Contract Group showroom at NeoCon World’s Trade Fair. It is an exhibit of trends, product design processes and prototypes made with non-traditional materials and manufactured in distinct methods that may inspire future carpet collections. Cashmere, metallic studs and translucent industrial fibers several of the unique materials used to create Design Lab.
“Design Lab allows us as designers to push our boundaries and explore new territories,” says Reesie Duncan, creative director for Shaw Contract Group. “The creative process itself is where we benefit as a design team. Design Lab is a study, an exercise in understanding the ebbs and flows of the commercial market. Through it, Shaw Contract Group is targeting where it will take the discussion of design to next.”
The seven emerging trends captured in Design Lab will play an important role in shaping the direction of carpet design:
• Self Indulgence - Luxury as a necessity with fine, smooth yarns
• Eco-uture - Renewable resources to create recyclable products
• Invented Tradition - Bold statement patterns, eclectic overlays and traditional prints
• Fantasy - Playful, modern, surreal and embellished designs
• Origami - Multi-dimensional design that is angular, sculptural and complex
• Armorial - Materials that are ornate, protective and shimmer to the eye
• Skeletal - Open patterns, interlocking structures and color infused neutrals
“The concept of Design Lab promotes forward-thinking design. It is how we provide solutions to current and future issues through design,” says John Stephens, vice president of marketing for Shaw Contract Group. “Not all of the products shown in the Design Lab showroom at NeoCon are marketable today, but Shaw Contract Group is predicting the market’s demands several years in advance. Design Lab represents the leadership that the commercial design community expects from Shaw Contract Group.”
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