In celebration of National Design Month, October’s Object of The Week posts honor past National Design Award winners.

This post was originally published on July 9, 2017.

This wallpaper by Geoff McFetridge somewhat resembles a circuit board with its minimal rendering of visual elements, but the title, “Lines Forrest,” clearly sets the record straight that this is a forest, though not necessarily one containing trees. The design is composed of strong verticals along with a variety of geometric shapes. The seemingly random placement of these other elements suggests the organic nature of the forest while also making the design more cohesive and less directional. The high contrast of the black on light gray background increases the graphic quality and abstract nature of the design.

McFetridge’s works of graphic design usually employ a simple color palette and flattened perspective. This aesthetic continues in his wallpaper designs, most of which are printed in a single color. He began designing wallpaper in 2001 with “Shadows of the Paranormal” and “Lines Forest” among his early designs. In 2007 he founded Pottok Prints (pronounced poh-tee-ahk) with his wife and partner Sarah deVincentis to control the production and sale of his wallpapers and other items.

McFetridge, a graphic designer and visual artist based in Los Angeles, was the winner of the 2016 National Design Award for Communication Design.

Greg Herringshaw was the Assistant Curator in Wallcoverings at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

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