3 Paper and Stationery Trends

The trade show Paperworld takes place end of this month in Frankfort, and I loved to see that designers Cem Bora, Claudia Herke and Annetta Palmisano had been working on last years trend analysis. Since it goes up to 2015 and is very trendy still, I thought it would be interesting to share to with you their 3 main interpretations.

According to these three trend experts from the Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano, ” The inspiration for new finishes, materials, colors and designs comes from the avant-garde of fashion, architecture and furniture design. They are then transferred to the stationery and office supplies sector and re-interpreted.”

So let’s see what we have here:

1// The College Refinement

“The ‘college refinement’ look is suitable for everyday use but by no means everyday – smart basics are cleverly mixed and make a casual, sporting impression. Although a must, high product quality is not emphasised – it is a matter of course. Practical aspects also play an important role for this trend. Alongside elegant beige, brown, grey and black, expressive colors are carefully selected and skilfully combined. Masculine vintage shades, such as rich ochre yellow, intensive red and jeans blue create color effects and a classic look. In addition to restrained colours, straight lines, classic shapes and graphic design give products a reserved flair and luxurious elegance. Letters and figures in baseball or university style recall the USA of the sixties. ‘College refinement’ stands for a modern design that has been refined and reduced to the essentials. And these essentials are interpreted using superior materials: soft velour and smooth leather, as well as high-grade linen, cotton and paper, underscore the elegant look through their delicate structures and haptic surfaces. Classic suit materials, glen check and checked patterns lend a masculine touch. Inspiration for the designs comes from light woods and their graining, letters and numbers and graphic designs, such as writing, mathematics and graph paper.”

2// Gentle Time-Out

“With its restrained colours, natural materials and simple forms, the style world of ‘gentle time-out’ creates a retreat, a place to relax. The trend radiates an all-pervasive tranquillity and generates a light and relaxed mood whereby everything is balanced, nothing stands out – everything in this unostentatious and serene trend is in tune. The interaction of color, light and shade calms the senses at the same time as providing new energy. The emphasis in ‘gentle time-out’ is on fine pastel shades: gentle nude, lilac and mint form a harmonious series of colours. They go perfectly with natural shades, from ivory, via biscuit, to stone whereby chrome sets a cool accent. The light and restrained colors underscore the elegant and fine materials, as well as the haptic surfaces. Genuine wood, cork, stone and concrete are combined with suede, matt glass and brushed metal to create both haptic and visual stimuli. Supplementing these rather matt are materials with lustrous and smooth surfaces, such as silver, copper and bronze. Besides natural wood or stone graining, the patterns include abstract designs, sequences and dégradées. Handwriting, water colours, pen-and-ink drawings and engravings are used to emphasise the artistic aspect of this trend while, by way of contrast, digital prints with deliberate blurring give a modern touch.”

3// Fabulous Delight

“The ‘fabulous delight’ trend reinterprets the world in its individual and intensive way. It creates a brilliant kaleidoscope of graphic, ironic and futuristic elements. At the same time, this style world and its multifarious characteristics should not be taken too seriously – ‘fabulous delight’ mixes dynamism and expressiveness with a good pinch of humour. Both op-art and comic culture are sources of inspiration for this colorful trend. Moreover, the modern design and art avant-garde plays a major role, which breaks with visual traditions by creating new color and spatial structures and optical illusions. The range of colors is fresh, bold and intensive: mint green, rosé, cherry red, fuchsia, dark violet and bright blue are used in addition to white, which prepares the stage for this colorful spectrum. Monochrome surfaces, imaginative patterns and surreal sequences are given an expressive and vibrant touch, which results in shimmering effects and vibrating superimposition and even multi-colour 3D motives. The materials are distinguished by psychedelic patterns, stripes, pixels, cartoons, pictographs and three-dimensional typography. Special effects are created on lustrous surfaces, such as glass, Plexiglas and films. For ‘fabulous delight’, the pattern, prints and images are of paramount importance, not the material. The vivid colour sequences, computer-animated patterns and technical materials are in contrast with simple geometric patterns in black and white.”

As a more personal observation, I understand

Trend #1 is hot right now with its beginnings seen in AW 2013/14. I’ve seen a lot of tartan this winter in London but I expect this look to end soon however, this theme is an evergreen and will be back for sure. Instead, I believe we will go on with a classic and refined trend but shifting to a less British look&feel in terms of patterns.

Trend #2 and everything gentle in pattern and colors is here to stay for quite a while still. Blush shades are becoming quite timeless and are included in many color trends for 2015/16. Lettering and watercolors are still hot and getting quite a lot introduced in branding (not sure if even too much).

Trend #3 is a 100% actual with a vibrant color scheme used a lot in advertising campaigns and graphic design. I am curious to see if the iridescent trend is taking over with a clearly futuresque feel too.

So, any favorite here? G, x

PD: For those readers who were not directed through my newsletter to this post, please note I am sending once a week information about trend shows I visit, other trends and moodboarding tips for business. Some posts are not published on the blog and are exclusive. I will shortly announce as well my Expert Trend Board contributing this year for subscribers only. Feel free to join the community today!