Radio Waves, an Acoustic Panel Collection

This fall at NeoCon 2021, Design Pool is introducing The Cryptology Collection, a collection of twenty original pattern designs inspired by code, the hidden messages they communicate, and the women codebreakers of World War II. Designed by Kristen Dettoni, The Cryptology Collection is part of Design Pool’s digital library, the only pattern library created exclusively for interior designers and home to over 600 designs. The Cryptology Collection includes four smaller groupings designed for specific markets, including upholstery, wallcovering, flooring, and acoustic panels. Radio Waves is an acoustic panel collection.

The Cryptology Collection invites people think about how we communicate.

The need for code makers and codebreakers arose quickly. With the invention of the wireless telegraph, fighting wars changed fundamentally. Messages were being communicated over radio waves and anyone could listen. This required messages to be coded and there was an instant demand for codebreakers.

Codebreaking pioneer, Elizebeth Smith Friedman broke thousands of codes during World War I, Prohibition, and World War II and was the inspiration for this collection. She and her contemporaries also paved the way for women to have careers in the sciences, intelligence agencies, and the military. Many women, unable to enlist in the military because they wouldn’t accept women, served their country (for free) in the Navy through WAVES, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services. This collection pays homage to those women’s contributions.

Kristen Dettoni, Design Pool founder and designer, is excited to debut this collection at NeoCon this fall. “When I first learned about the women codebreakers from this era, I felt an immediate kinship. Like them, I have worked with patterns my whole career and know their power to communicate in our lives. Through this collection, I hope to spark a conversation about what interior designers communicate in a built environment through their choices of materials and patterns.” Dettoni started her design process with a message written in code. She then used that code to create shapes and finally created a pattern from those shapes.

Radio Waves: an acoustic panel collection printed by Image Craft.

The collection begins with pattern Message, a landscape floral growing up from grasses. In the grass, Morse code spells Elizebeth’s full name. This modern pattern is perfect for a stylish border or an accent wall.

In Tujjedy, the name itself is written in code from an original circle cipher invented for this collection. This pattern of shapes sitting on an open ground is the alphabet in this circle cipher.

Next in the collection is pattern Telegraph, inspired by the infamous Zimmerman telegram. Intercepted by the British, this telegram eventually drove the US to enter WWI. In this pattern, binary code creates a modern geometric pattern with the message “Loose lips sink ships.”

Signals uses binary code to spell Elizebeth’s name. The ones become lines and the zeros become textural rectangles.

Lastly,Traffic says “Think with your whole body” in bar code. Elizebeth was the first codebreaker to take decryption a step further into traffic analysis. Using a process she developed, she decoded individual messages and then figured out who is talking to whom. It was a game-changer. Using this process, she helped the Coast Guard fight organized crime during prohibition.

Design Pool partners with Arizona printer Image Craft to print these designs on their acoustic panels.

These unique panels by Image Craft flatten noise levels in a room and have uniform color throughout the entire thickness. A useful product on its own, digital printing adds visual interest. Panels contain a minimum of 60% recycled fiber from PET plastics. They are also completely recyclable at the end of life. They have an “A” fire rating, are bleach cleanable, and are microbial resistant.

Interior designers we’ve talked to are eager to integrate sustainable, on-demand printing into their material selection. However, they are concerned about high minimums and added costs. We give those designers easy access to this technology by connecting them to partners such as Image Craft. Designers can order material with confidence knowing we always vet all our partners for quality and service. There are low-to-no minimum requirements, quick turnaround, and high-quality products.

“While I was intrigued by the work these women did with pattern to crack codes, I was also inspired by their enthusiasm for science and the cutting-edge technology of their time,” reflects Dettoni. “I know they would be as excited as I am about the technological advances in digital printing and its ability to change the way products are manufactured in the US and around the world.”

NeoCon is the world’s leading platform for the commercial interiors industry. The event takes place on October 4 – 6, 2021 at theMART in Chicago, IL. This will be an in-person event. Find Design Pool on the 7^th floor of theMART in Booth 7-4049.

Photo credit: Kristen Julianna Photography