Light Play, a new collection by Design Pool

Introducing Light Play, a collection of patterns designed by Kristen Dettoni for Design Pool. In this collection, Kristen wanted to create patterns that were interactive and playful in nature. She wanted patterns that brought the outdoors in and created a sense of transition between the outside and the inside.

Recently, Graphix Unlimited began offering a new woven window film. Their window film adds privacy to a room while still letting the light through. Kristen sees a lot of possibilities for this product in a wide range of environments and wanted to design patterns to highlight its potential. She thought about how window film takes an otherwise plain element, a wall or a piece of glass, and makes it interesting with color, pattern, and texture. Why not go beyond interesting and decorative and make it fun and interactive? This idea of interactivity got Kristen thinking about what light does and the shadows it creates.

Outside, Kristen started noticing how light plays and snapping photos of interesting shadows.

Playing in and with the light was the starting point for this collection. Plants growing next to the sidewalk, her shadow stretching into the street, a tree growing nearby; suddenly Kristen was noticing all these shadows. She started snapping shadow selfies while out with friends, making fun poses. Kristen also thought about other ways people play with light. She remembered making shadow puppets with a flashlight at camp and adjusting the light dramatically while drawing a still life at art school.

All this inspiration became Light Play.

This collection of fourteen patterns invites people to interact with pattern and with each other. In this collection, there are eight patterns featuring plants and flowers. Four patterns are landscape designs, and the others are allover designs. These patterns were based on local plants and flowers spotted in the garden or on walks. Next, there are four playful patterns featuring shadows of people. Kristen mined her collection of shadow selfies and also took photos of the neighborhood kids playing on a summer day. Lastly, there is a floating feather pattern and one featuring shadow puppets.

The window film, available through Graphix Unlimited, perfectly highlights these patterns. The film is a semi-transparent polyester fabric that can be used on a variety of surfaces, such as glass and metal, and has a woven texture. It allows light in while adding privacy. It also provides UV resistance and reduces harmful infrared rays by 25 – 33%. This feature has the benefit of helping a room maintain a cooler room temperature, reducing energy expenses.

We can picture these patterns used in a range of applications. For example, Playful Silhouette Ombre and Shadow Puppets are fun for children’s spaces such as elementary school, doctor’s waiting room, or library. Other patterns let adults in on the play, such as Summer Shadows. Patterns Shadow Plants or Silhouette Garden Ombre are perfect for quieter spaces such as an office conference room.  

Whether you want to pretend to hold a feather in the palm of your hand, recreate a shadow puppet, or mimic the jump of a 5-year-old, this collection has something there for you. However you interact with these patterns, we know they will have you looking differently at your shadows when you’re on your next walk.  

All the patterns in Light Play are now live in our licensable library. While we were inspired by window film while designing these collections, they can be printed on any material. We can also picture these used on acoustic panels, room dividers, privacy curtains, and wallcovering.

You can see these patterns in person, printed on window film by Graphix Unlimited at NeoCon.