A product odyssey

When a major exhibition takes root in a museum or gallery, its influence is instantly seen in the accompanying gift shop and soon makes ripples further afield.

The same can be seen with the Design Museum’s current show Wim Crouwel, A Graphic Odyssey, which runs at the London museum until the beginning of July.

The retrospective of the prolific Dutch graphic designer has inspired some exciting work, not just of the graphic variety but spreading into product and interiors as well.

The exhibition co-curator Tony Brooks has designed a wallpaper inspired by Crouwel for Cole & Son.

Brooks says, ‘The C in the wallpaper print is for Crouwel. Under normal circumstances a C is a simple letter, but a Wim Crouwel designed letterform is a different matter altogether. The C I have chosen show off his love of geometry, systematic thinking and mastery of abstract form.’

Brook has also designed a rug for Tai Ping, inspired by Crouwel’s famous font New Alphabet.

Build has created a Crouwel-inspired screenprint for Unit Editions, created by overlaying brightly coloured inks. Build’s Michael Place says about how he’s been inspired by Crouwel, ‘For me it’s that overriding impression of moving forwards, always looking forwards’.

And for those after a truly immersive Crouwel environment The Andaz Liverpool Street hotel has created a room inspired by the designer using a grid-based layout and typographic wallpaper and asymmetric visuals.