“2017 has seen rise to many new and inspiring trends. Painted watercolours and beautiful fading patterns have been significant trends this year” said Sophie Beddington, senior designer at Forbo Flooring Systems.

In the world of design, trends are ever-evolving; however they are also cyclical. In 2017, a return to decadence and opulence has been evident with turquoises and bold geometrics being prevalent.

“Concepts are trend-driven and our designers tailor designs to make sure they stay relevant” said Suzanne Ross, colour technology design specialist at Forbo Flooring Systems.

The appearance of rich jewel-like tones coupled with soft pastels have been influential in developments and new collections this year, offering a sophisticated luxury in design. These colours are both warming and calming and offset with neutrals create the perfect colour palette.

With a relaunch planned for one of the core collections; Flotex colour, the design team have looked to these popular colours for inspiration. The main focus of this collection is the colour palette so it is important that trend based colours are included in order to create a versatile and balanced collection.

During designer & custom digital print specialist, Sarah Oldfield’s 12 years with the company, she has developed strong relationships with manufacturers and industrial designers by giving supportive and inspirational advice during the creative process, to help meet design needs.

Sarah explained: “In our Vision range we have Transit and Cord which are both well received for rail use because of their small scale and directional patterns. They are often for specific brands and trademark colour schemes.”

Sarah added: “Vision also offers plenty of scope for many marine environments. Metro and Penang designs from our colour range are favoured because of their practicality and cleanability. Digitally printed material in customer facing areas adds a luxurious feel.”

The extensive range offers small and large scale patterns in a widespread range of colours.

We also have our bespoke digital service which offers the flexibility to create tailored made patterns to coordinate within the customers’ design and colour schemes.

This includes recolouring and rescaling of our existing designs where possible.

Where do the Forbo Design Team find inspiration for their work?

“Generally we find that in rail designs, we create small scale directional linear or geometric patterns due to the small spaces being seen by the customer. These are colour coordinated to brand colours or other interior textiles. Different coach classes impact on design requirements often with Standard class being more functional and the Upper 1st class offering a more deluxe and rich feel.” Sarah Oldfield explained.

Sarah added, “Marine design is often for specific areas within vessels and offshore facilities. The bespoke design service is well received for hospitality areas and large scale patterns are often required. Themed patterns are often used for areas such as theatres, casinos, play areas ….. the list goes on!”

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To learn more about Flotex and its suitable applications, please visit: https://www.forbo.com/flooring/en-aa/segments/transport/rail/p4nlhr

Alternatively, contact transport@forbo.com to request a sample or to arrange a call-back from one of the sales team.