Design Insider 2019 Predictions

Design Insider have taken the time to review events and talks that we have attended in 2018. After consulting with the experts, we would like to explore with you trends that we expect to see throughout the year: Bauhaus, Yellow, Metallics, Environmentally Considerate Resources and Pods!

Below we will explain our reasoning for each growing trend for 2019…

Bauhaus

Most designers will know Bauhaus will be celebrating its centenary in 2019. You can read about the history of Bauhaus here, as well as its inspirations and influences. 

Bauhaus has been a great influence to designers for 100 years, conjuring a new way of thinking and designing even now. Once a radical revolt against the status quo, Bauhaus is now the new norm, into the decor of our daily lives.

Zoffany have recently released “Zoffany Icons”, which was inspired by original documents of the Bauhaus design paired with their own iconic designs. Zoffany wanted their new design to be a celebration, which we think they achieved successfully.

“When we work with archive design we didn’t redrew them, if something has has gravitas and a heritage to it, we won’t try to redesign it, we’ll try to celebrate it’s natural design sense and then we will also then create new designs to sit with it.” – Peter Gomez. Head of Design at Zoffany.

Yellow

We may be biased due to this being one of our colour themes, but we are excited to see yellow becoming on trend! You can see yellow in Furniture Fusion’s recent project, for example.

Jim spotted the yellow theme at the London Design Festival last year: The sharp yellow chosen to adorn the majority of design commentator Barbara Chandler’s celebratory 100% Forward exhibition, is a suitably optimistic and enlivening welcome to 100% Design at Olympia.

You can read our article on how colours can provoke emotions – a welcoming and optimistic year, perhaps?

Copper/metallics

Before Christmas, Design Insider spoke to BCFA members about Metallic Trends and Finishes.

Some members, as well as looking back, looked forward: they saw dual tone chairs with metal frames, tubular metal frames with dip dye effects, and coloured brassware.

We can see metallics come to life in projects – Versital supplied Copper Stratos metallic marble finishes for the bar tops and panels for the Sir Thomas hotel in Liverpool.

Environmentally Considerate Resources

From our metallic trends 2018 post, Milliken informed us that their designers have started to use ECONYL yarn, made from 100% regenerated fibre.

In our Living with Plastics video, we address the overuse of plastic which is damaging our environment. Designers and architects have begun to prioritise the use of environmentally considerate resources, which we hope continues this year.

Long before upcycling was a buzzword, Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek was taking scraps of wood to create new pieces of furniture. You can view Jim’s Dutch Design Week trend report, featuring Piet Hein Eek.

GROHE, a BCFA member, has also been keeping the environment in mind when designing their products – for the third time they achieved a leading position at the German Sustainability Awards, making them one of the top 3 “Most Sustainable Big Companies in Germany.”

Pods

Our Design Insider Editor visited the ORGATEC in Cologne last year, the world’s leading trade fair for Office and Facility. She found pods to be a very significant trend – see what we mean in our gallery!

We have seen an increase of pods being used in offices, like Boss’ B:HIVE. We believe this may be the end of a truly open office – do you agree?

Are these trends fitting? Have we missed any trends out? This is your opportunity to let us know!