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NeoCon 2016: Six Trends to Inspire Your Next Project

From vibrant use of color to nature-infused designs and more, manufacturers are innovating to elevate future environments

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Like the super bowl of interior design materials and products, from furniture and the latest technology-integrated wall systems to carpet and luxury vinyl tile (LVT), and everything in between, manufactures work tirelessly each year in preparation for the big event in June. Though there’s NeoCon East and NeoCon West, Chicago remains the destination for the world to uncover the latest and greatest!

Throughout the year, manufactures work diligently, scouring the globe for trends in colors, patterns, and textures to inform their latest design and product launch. And, in some cases, manufacturers invest years of design research, consumer behavior studies and product testing in order to launch an innovative task chair that will take center stage in their showroom. While other manufacturers use the NeoCon platform to tell their story, like a carpet company transparently illustrating the process that goes into their manufacturing in order to be the most environmentally and socially sustainable product available within their category. (More on this in next month’s blog.)

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

Like many other designers, NeoCon is a highlight from my year, challenging me to think differently. In these showrooms, I’m inspired to be innovative, forward-thinking, and to let my creative juices flow. So, from my perspective, these are the six inspiring trends that I uncovered during my three days at NeoCon 2016. Hopefully they will inspire you as well.

1. Pantone’s Picks

Not so surprisingly, the Pantone Colors of the Year was a prevailing color palette in almost every major showroom. But what was surprising was the way they were applied, going beyond just paint and solid textiles, though those were present as well. Dot and plaid-patterned glass created colorfully transparent vertical and horizontal surfaces, while the first-ever patterned hexagonal carpet tiles created a playful floor surface. The pale blue tone, “Serenity,” was often found incorporated alongside neutral colors of tans and grays to create a soothing palette reflecting its name.

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Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

One showroom expanded the palette to include a more vibrant green and coral duo for a textural acoustical wall panel system; I felt as though I was walking through a Peter Eisenman building circa the 1996 Aronoff Center for Design and Art, aka the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) building, where I spent all my waking hours during my undergrad years. Fortunately, this color palette took on a modern twist – instead of simply color blocking, it was incorporated into a variety of patterns and textures. 

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

One showroom expanded the palette to include a more vibrant green, red, and mustard  for a textural acoustical wall panel system; I felt as though I was walking through a Peter Eisenman building circa the 1996 Aronoff Center for Design and Art, aka the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) building, where I spent all my waking hours during my undergrad years. Fortunately, this color palette took on a modern twist – instead of simply color blocking, it was incorporated into a variety of patterns and textures. A carpet manufacturer also included a subtle green and dark gray to add balance to this pastel palette.

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

2. A Kaleidoscope of Color

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Though pastels may have taken over, vibrant colors can’t been forgotten. On the first floor of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, a large fragmented form seemed to catch everyone’s attention. Like a geode, a variety of textile colors and patterns formed the carved space for people to occupy, and they did just that, as this comfortable space was also equipped with an all-too-common tradeshow rarity: phone chargers!

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

Through the looking glass, one manufacturer launched new textures layered over their known vibrant resin panels, showcasing them in rotating dots, winning them “Best Showroom.” IIDA 2016 Titan Award Winner, Dorothy Cosonas, designed a new textile pattern which introduces vibrant orange, green and lime with a regal burgundy and Pantone’s Serenity in its over-scaled floral and stripe pattern. From graphic-printed wallcoverings to leather, saturated and vibrant colors can’t be ignored.

3. Need for Nature

Many manufactures go beyond trends to apply design theories which have been developed by prominent design researchers. Some of which even have their own internal research teams studying human behavior. One such theory that was prevailing was the “Need for Nature” theory. Nature was the inspiration for the patterns and textures of everything from LVT to carpet, turning an ordinary floor into a field of flowers. Both large- and small-scale graphics appeared as wall coverings or sandwiched between glass panels. Going to the moon and back for inspiration, two manufacturers used the moon as their muse, one for a carpet pattern and the other for a textile.

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

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Mixing natural wood tones within one space, or even a single fixture, was seen in many showrooms. Other natural materials, such as wool and leather, found their way into many of the materials that I came in contact with, tapping into the sense of touch to connect people to nature. From moss walls to harvested petrified wood from Lake Michigan, elements from nature connect people to product.

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

4. The Craft of Making

What stood out to me as the star of NeoCon this year was the Maker’s Movement. The maker’s spaces in two different showrooms were the highlight for me. Featuring three unique maker’s rooms, each with its own craftsman from Italy who spent their days at NeoCon showcasing the work that goes into hand-constructing a variety of chairs. Though a major furniture manufacturer, this live storytelling exhibits exactly what goes into the making of their furniture. Clearly the maker’s movement isn’t just reserved for small, independent craftsmen. Some large companies still maintain traditional techniques requiring the skill of classically trained craftsmen, many part of a long family lineage of craftsman who did the same work. Getting show attendees involved in the making process, a hand loom was set up in a textile showroom, inviting visitors to collectively create unique textile and engage in the traditional process of weaving.

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

5. A Woven World

From those made with weaving looms to hand-woven rugs, the traditional techniques and patterns from hand-woven textiles seemed to pop up everywhere. Hella Jongerius, a Dutch industrial designer known in the textile world for her layered felt and embroidered technique, as well as her woven rugs introduced at NeoCon in 2014, returned with new woven rug patterns and colors, as well as an upholstery collection. Not only could these designs be seen in the manufacturer’s showroom, but they laid the groundwork for many of the vignettes in other furniture showrooms.

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

Another furniture showroom collaborated with Patricia Urquiola, a Spanish architect and designer, for its handmade rugs which incorporate a variety of weaving and knitting techniques that when mixed with high-tech furniture, create a modern yet approachable environment. A major carpet manufacturer based its new collection, appropriately named “World Woven,” off of centuries-old textile patterns from around the globe.  

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

6. Fine Art Infusion

Like the previously mentioned featured artist/designers, other manufacturers are inspired by fine art and use NeoCon to showcase their artists’ collaborations which create innovative materials melding artistry and practicality. Suzanne Tick is a veteran when It comes to these collaborations, and as a fine art weaver, she uses her pieces as a spring board to tell her story through textiles, glass, resin panels, architectural mesh, carpet and even LVT. Her woven sculptures speak to her philosophies on sustainability and material product waste, as well as societal behavioral changes. This year, in addition to her aforementioned “phases of the moon” sculpture which inspired her textile, one of her other designs using state-of-the-art digital printing on LVT, stood out.

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

Inspired by this technology, she infused the look of natural materials, such as felt and marble, juxtaposed by an industrial materials such as wire hangers and aluminum foil, in her collection of vinyl tiles. Rebekah, I took out the name of the products because this is a little tricky to do with our material advertisers. Modernizing the look of Victorian tapestries, this same manufacturer used designer 2-by-4 to create a field of flowers that transitions to a field of pixels manifesting in the design of three tiles. And with technology, now you can become an artists as well! This year, the Michael Young designed LessThanFive chair which was originally introduced at last year’s NeoCon, can now be digitally printed with whatever artwork your imagination can create. The showroom featured the white chair with what resembled black tattoos, but I can only imagine what this could become within a retail store or your next café project.

Photography: Rebekah L. Matheny, Columbus, Ohio

What inspires you? Is it a pattern from Nature or an artist’s work? Do you have a sustainable story or philosophy to tell? How will these trends from NeoCon inspire your retail designs? For more inspiration from NeoCon, check out her web site www.interiormaterialsmatter.com and her instagram @rebekahmathenydesign.

To see how the “Need for Nature” theory and artist collaborations come to life in the retail scene of Rio de Janerio, be sure to come to Rebekah’s session at the International Retail Design Conference (IRDC), where she is collaborating with local architect Carol Baltar to present “Retail in Rio: An Inspiring Trip through the City’s Retail Scene,” Wednesday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m., at Le Westin Montreal.

Rebekah L. Matheny is the assistant professor of interior design at The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio), where she teaches courses in interior finish materials, lighting design and design studios that integrate a retail brand strategy process. Matheny’s research investigates the sensory perception of interior finish materials and their application in retail design to create an emotional connection between the customer and the brand. Follow Rebekah and her journey with materials on Instagram @rebekahmathenydesign and to start a dialogue about the sensory experience of materials visit her web site interiormaterialsmatter.com

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