Formations

With ‘Formations’, Cole & Son returns to its roots: a range of geometric patterns that dates back over a century in the company’s archives. The designs draw on basic shapes, lines, grids and recurring motifs, translating them into a contemporary context – from kaleidoscopic diamond patterns through delicate lattices and mosaic surfaces to broad, marbled bands. Etched, printed and overprinted, layer upon layer creates surfaces in which the colour is tangibly worked into the paper; the artisanal touch remains recognisable in every strip. This lends the austere structures a soft, tactile quality, making them appear lively rather than purely graphic. Based in London, Cole & Son has been designing wall coverings since 1875, drawing on its own extensive archive of historical block-printed and screen-printed patterns.