Change of thinking regarding digitally printed wallpaper

I was asked to look at someone’s wallpaper design portfolio the other day which prompted me to write this piece. In my capacity as a purchaser of artwork for traditional wallpaper I have seen many design portfolios. In the past I have been amazed that designers never used to really put their designs into repeat. It was a requirement necessary at the time because of the printing process. There was no real alternative and design studios tailored their work accordingly.

Now, however, times have changed.

Digital print is coming more and more to the fore as Interior Designers grasp the concept and recognise the potential with their creativity. Some artists and commercial designers however still believe they have to produce artwork in a format suitable for conventional print process.
So after years of telling artists, artworkers and commercial design studios to design for the process, I am now telling them to forget what I said in the past, take the shackles off and whack those ideas out!

Don’t worry about design repeats any more. Design, draw, paint, digitally produce design that you think would look amazing on a wall, because we can now create and produce it!

It is a mindset which wallpaper designers and, to some extent, textile designers should break out of. The future of wallpaper is individuality. I’ve not seen a conventional wallpaper that I’ve liked for a long time, simply because I now know what can actually be achieved!

So to all creative designers I say, let your creativity flow. There are no restrictions for wallpaper design anymore. There is no need to put ideas and artwork into repeats!

When I question artists & designers as to what they think digital wallpaper is I usually receive the answer that it is a photographic mural at a set size. Sorry, NO! We can produce digital wallpaper from any artwork at any size, it doesn’t have to be a photograph.

So let those creative juices flow. Digital wallpaper is the future!