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R&R, A Collection for Healthcare Interiors

This month we are excited to introduce R&R, a collection of health and wellness-inspired patterns for healthcare interiors. This is the latest group of patterns in the award-winning Cryptology Collections. Using our innovative technique of designing with coded messages, we created beautiful designs with hidden messages about health and wellness.

When we created The Cryptology Collections, we thought about how patterns contribute to what is being communicated in a built environment. When it comes to healthcare interiors, what if the patterns themselves contained messages of hope, healing, and health? Eventually, those questions led to the creation of this collection.

But first, a bit about the inspiration for R&R.

In our cryptology groups, we were inspired by the women codebreakers of WWII. Elizebeth Smith Friedman inspired hundreds of women to explore careers in codebreaking, the sciences, and the military. As a result, many women worked high-pressure jobs in the military with demanding schedules. On their days off they sought out a little R&R, aka rest and relaxation. For example, they would head to the beach, throw parties, or simply run errands. Through a sense of camaraderie and shared purpose, these women thrived in a stressful environment. Most importantly, they offered each other support and kept up the morale of the enlisted men.

The patterns in R&R were inspired by these days off and the self-care these women treated themselves to long before anyone used that term. As with all the other patterns in The Cryptology Collections, each design in this collection began with a message written in code. Next, Kristen creatively transformed that code into shapes and those shapes became patterns.

The R&R Collection, an upholstery collection for healthcare interiors.

Journey, Pattern P1921

Journey is inspired by the journies these women made to visit their families and friends. After long days of working, they enjoyed the journey itself as much as the destination. Likewise, for many who experience healthcare interiors, they are also on a type of journey as they navigate their way back to wellness. The message in this pattern uses a Rosicrucian Code to write the Buddhist chant, “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.” Buddhists believe chanting this phrase will turn our problems and sufferings into energy for our happiness. 

Spindrift, Pattern P1923

Spindrift is a word that refers to the spray blown onto the beach from ocean waves. The beach was a frequent destination for women on R&R. Therefore, this design is an acknowledgment of the healing and calming power of the ocean. The circles in this pattern use an open circle cipher developed by Kristen for this collection. The hidden message coded into this design reads, “Health and Happiness.”

Letters, Pattern P1925

Letters is a pattern with shifting stripes of stripes. In this pattern, bar code spells the hidden message, “focus on the positive.” The women frequently wrote this sentiment to enlisted men to help keep up morale. Used in a healthcare interior, it can be a subtle reminder to stay positive in the face of a stressful experience.

Playful, P1922

Playful is an animated geometric pattern of interesting shapes created with swatches of texture. When printed on faux-leather upholstery, this texture gives the look of a woven textile. Yet without the cleaning challenges of actual cloth. A retro cipher, also developed by Kristen for this collection, writes the coded message for this pattern. Crack the code and it reads, “Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.” The work these women did for the military was often sad and stressful. As a result, they believed in the power of play to help balance their emotions and get through hard times.

Sanguine, P1924

Sanguine is a unique stripe pattern mixing lines with movement to create an overall soothing pattern. The different thicknesses of lines is actually a bar code with the hidden message, “F*ck Cancer.” This pattern is a fun way to add some spunk to a treatment room or doctor’s office. If nothing else, it can help lighten the mood.

Dance, P1927

Finally, Dance is a fun circle pattern with wedges of different textures. These textures give the illusion of a woven fabric when printed on a flat, cleanable surface. The wedges in the circles contain a coded message made from a pie cipher. Crack the code and you’ll see the message, “Good vibes and better times.” This is an homage to a source of fun for women, dancing!

LDI Interiors prints this collection on-demand.

Design Pool partnered with LDI Interiors to digitally print these designs on EnviroLeather PRINTS, their luxurious, leather-like, wipeable coated fabrics. EnviroLeather PRINTS hold up to repeated cleanings, resist permanent staining, and retain their beauty for years in seating applications in busy environments. Their proprietary process allows for a coated fabric to mirror the look of a woven textile, but without the dimensional texture that harbors bacteria and viruses. Most importantly, this innovative technology is leading the movement toward sustainable, less toxic fabrics.

See these patterns in person at the HCD Expo + Conference happening October 23 – 26, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. Register today and find Design Pool in Booth 6073.

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Author

Kristin Crane

Kristin Crane has designed jacquard designs for the home furnishing and residential jobber market for many years, with mills in the US and in China. Today, she writes about pattern and design trends for Design Pool from her home in Providence, Rhode Island. When not writing about fabric, she can be found weaving in her home studio or hiking along the Rhode Island coast.

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