The shape of things: Patternity envisions ‘A New Way of Seeing’

It’s been a busy few years for art director Anna Murray and surface designer Grace Winteringham, the masterminds behind the habit-forming online portal, Patternity. Between exhibitions, products and a delectable project for Wallpaper* Handmade last year - all the while amassing an online following of over 1.5 million – it seems now, with the launch of their first (and arguably overdue) book, there’s no telling how far their current trajectory will take them.

Published by Conran Octopus, and with forewords by the likes of Tom Dixon, Patternity: A New Way of Seeing offers a striking physical extension to the digital pattern-verse they have created. ‘The book is structured as a journey through the Patternity philosophies, the power of curiosity and how paying more attention to the everyday can make us more mindful and how we’re all connected to our environment and each other,’ explains Murray.

To wit, Murray and Winteringham have pieced together an indispensible visual compendium that gets ‘beneath the surface of how and why pattern is important and what we can learn from it to positively shape the future of design - and beyond.’ But it’s more than just a carefully curated collection of beautiful images, and their enthusiasm for pattern is simply infectious.

A New Way of Seeing is peppered with thoughtful quotes from philosophers, mathematicians, novelists, poets and even a Roman emperor (‘We are born for co-operation’, said Marcus Aurelius).

With clients and collaborators that include Apple, Google, Nike, Selfridges, Cos, and the Barbican, the breadth of projects featured, too, is as wide-ranging as the scholars they’ve referenced. (A dazzling fair-trade rug collection for non-profit social business Made by Node is a particular favourite).

The launch of the book serves as a prelude to the duo’s next major project: a Festival of Pattern that will take place during the London Design Festival, kicking off this week. From Thursday, Londonewcastle Project Space will play host to a retrospective of Patternity’s studio collaborations, products and special projects to date, as well as roundtable discussions, pattern-making workshops and pattern–spotting field trips.