Many of our design elements reflect patterns found in nature: skylights, our sketchbooks, healing gardens. Some design elements, when framed at a certain scale, reveal patterns: planters, ceilings, curtainwalls–creating a tactile, layered environment.
What inspires? An archipelago found in a nearby river, a waterfall wall echoes a theme of healing with nature, sustainable wood, aerial agricultural photography. Patterns are everywhere – to inspire and be reinterpreted. All of these design elements have a graphic quality that elevates the seemingly simple to something interesting and abstract.
I find it most interesting to see where inspirational images come from and how they are re-mixed, revealed, reinterpreted. Check out a few from artist Jill Malek (via Design*Sponge) who has been hand-screening wall coverings inspired by patterns of nature and everyday images.
What other design disciplines have you seen reflect or reveal patterns in nature?
We are honored to share PAYETTE has received two 2026 Green Good Design Awards from The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies—Land’s Sake Farm and The Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard.
“Green GOOD DESIGN identifies and emphasizes the world’s most important examples of sustainable design and works to develop a public awareness program that informs the general public about which global companies are doing the best job in ecological and sustainable design for our world. Architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning projects, as well as product, packaging, and graphic design projects from over 30 nations were honored with the 2026 Green GOOD DESIGN Award.”
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