Josef Franks Wallpaper
Many believe that white walls and stripped-down surfaces are calming for the mind, but Josef Frank held a completely different view, and instead advocated patterned wallpapers. With his motifs, often composed with influences from nature and botany, he wanted the viewer to feel freedom and variety even in enclosed spaces.
– Josef Frank“Bright colours and powerful patterns can take away the feeling of confinement.
Even a pokey little cubicle can become exciting with striking wallpaper.”
Frank's Wallpaper
Josef Frank always designed different kinds of prints for specific purposes. He never used fabric patterns for wallpapers or wallpaper patterns for fabrics, but made sure that each pattern had a unique use.
Josef Frank“The monochromatic surface appears uneasy, while prints are calming, and the observer is unwillingly influenced by an underlying slow approach.”
Printing Josef Frank’s Wallpaper
For nearly 170 years, contemporary wallpapers have been produced by the Åsunden lake in Västergötland, Sweden. In Ulricehamn’s Wallpaper Factory, employees work to preserve artisanal traditions to bring that heritage into the future.
Josef Frank
Austrian designer and architect Josef Frank has had an enormous impact on the history of Swedish design. Despite being nearly 50 years old when emigrating to Sweden, he is now considered one of the country’s most important designers of all time.