Ceramic tiles trends 17 18

camila@incefra.com.br 02 Jul 2017

Texts:
Mª Giuseppa Casado D’Amato
Lutzia Ortiz Miralles
ISBN: 978-84-941029-5-0
Valencia Region, December 2016
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This report has been drawn up by the
Ceramic Observatory and the Habitat
Trends Observatory.
The report sets out the main trends that
will affect the ceramic tile sector in the
coming years. Proposals present in today’s
markets are also included. The report is
intended to serve as a creative tool for
tile manufacturing companies in the
development of their work.

Javier Mira Peidro, Coordinator of
Habitat Area in ITC
ALICER deputy director (1993-2005).
Participant or coordinator in more than
100 R & D related to ceramics, design,
decorative architectural applications and
innovative processes.
Technical Architect (UPV).
Vicente Lázaro Magdalena, Responsible
for Competitive Intelligence Unit in ITC
Specialist in Intelligence and technology
watch. Head of Intelligence Unit
Technology in ITC (2005-2013).
Head of R & D from 1997 to 2005 in
ALICER. Degree in chemistry (UV).
Sabrina Veral Borja, Responsible for
Market Observatory in ITC
Specialist in competitive Intelligence,
marketing and product. Market analysis
and communication in various companies
in the ceramic sector (2004-2007) Degree
in Business Administration (UJI) Degree in
Market Research (UV)
Jorge Corrales García, Architect in Area
Habitat of ITC
Ceramic systems specialist for
architecture and urbanism.
Official title of Senior Architect (UPV).
Official Master's Degree in Energy
Efficiency and Sustainability in Industrial
Facilities and Building (UJI).
Lutzía Ortiz Miralles, Responsible for the
Product Unit in ITC
Specialist in ceramic tile design and inkjet
technology. Head of product and image at
Johnson Matthey (2001–2006). Art director
at Fujarah Ceramic, UAE (1998–1999).
Founder and Art Director of Cerarq design
studio, Castellón. 1992–1998. Co-creator of
the design department at Torrecid (1990).
Pepa Casado D’Amato, is head of
research at future-A, a company devoted
to trends detection and application. She
also a freelance journalist specialising in
design and culture for Houzz España.
Degree in Publicity and Public Relations
(UJI) and International Studies in Peace,
Conflict and Development: UNESCO
Master’s Program.

Ana Martínez, ASCER Head of the Area
for Trade, Promotion, and
Communication. She has developed her
professional career at ASCER. She
started up the ASCER Network of
Ceramic Tile Studies Departments at
different schools of architecture, and
the ASCER ceramics awards.
Francisco Herrera, Product Manager at
Levantina, where he has worked for
over 8 years. At Levantina, he manages
and directs the Techlam line, one of the
company’s most innovative lines.
Previously he acquired experience in
construction materials distribution.
Miguel Bartolomé, industrial designer,
teacher of design (UJI), and creator and
promoter of FREEHAND CERAMICS. He
has more than 15 years’ experience
collaborating with architects and
interior designers in ceramic product
development.
Carmen biel, industrial designer and
specialist in design and project
management. She currently heads the
Singular Surface project at Valresa and
is innovation consultant, as partner of
Materials & Design Innovation,
contributing value in design and R&D
through materials, industrial design, and
product development as key elements
to corporate success.
Camila Lamberti, works for the
Frangani Group in Brazil, specialising in
research into trends and new ceramic
concepts. She has over 20 years’
experience, travelling all over the world
to investigate global trends. She has
also won several national design awards
in Brazil.
Mila Payá, EASD teacher (Castellón).
Her professional career has been tied
to the ceramic sector, linked to
ALICER. She has collaborated with
different sector companies in design
projects and has analysed streams
and trends in the Trends Unit.

Ryan Fasan, 18 years’ experience in the
ceramic industry. He consults for
manufacturing companies and is a
specialist in product design and
marketing. He collaborates regularly
with the Harvard Graduate School of
Design (GSD), BCIT’s Bachelor of Interior
Design, and the London Design Week.
Erika Anton, head of marketing and
trends at Decotec Printing S.A.U., a
company devoted to the design and
printing of decorative paper for the
furniture industry. Degree in Art and
Design from Escola Massana (Barcelona).
Prior to that she worked in the interior
design world.
Pamela Albanese, studied
communication theory at the University
of Bologna, specialising in semiotics.
She works in marketing and in design
and art trends. She has edited Trend for
the Ceramic World Review since 2015.
Head of trends research at the Tosilab
design studio since 2013.
Palmira Simón, coordinates and directs
the product design department at the
Keraben Group. Her work was granted
the Alpha 2001 Award and the 2016
Award for the best flooring by a select
group of experts. She earned her Degree
in Graphic Design from the Castellón
School of Arts and Crafts and has over
25 years’ experience in the ceramic tile
sector.
Granada Barredo, has a Degree in
Technical Engineering in Industrial Design
from the University of Seville and is a
strategic consultant. She is an associate
and board member of the Andalusia
Designers Association (AAD) and
collaborates with the Andalusia
Coolhunting Association. She has her own
studio where she helps companies apply
trends and design.
Mauricio Alarcón, has over 17 years’
experience in different industries and
sectors in Colombia and Spain. His
passion for design, development, and
innovation has led him to pursue
company–market linkage by product
differentiation and services.

Fran Raya, founder of WITCO
BRANDING, devoted to value creation.
He has 22 years’ experience in major
companies from the Spanish ceramic
sector (INALCO, PORCELANATTO,
TODAGRES, and CERACASA) as Marketing
and Product Director.
Belén Sierra, specialises in ceramic
design management. She has 25 years’
experience in major Spanish ceramic
sector companies like Esmalglass,
Ceracasa, and Newton. She is currently
head of Marketing at Oneker
Cinzia Lugli, Marketing Manager
Ferro Corporation & Studente
Digital Marketing in Digital Coach.
Product research and
development, product trends
analysis in the marketplace. Study
of design concepts at national and
international ceramic trade fairs.
Stone design, is a design studio
founded by Eva Prego and Cutu
Mazuelos, industrial and interior
designers with over 20 years’
experience. Their clients include
Peronda and other major habitat
sector brands, such as Made Design,
Actiu, and Bla Station.

In recent years, manufacturing technologies
have set sector trends: reproduction of ever-
more faithfully represented materials thanks
to ink and glaze digital printing and sizes up
to 300x100 cm, the new standard sizes
becoming 30x90 cm, prices for which have
dropped, making them more accessible
options.
However, the production dynamics of the
ceramic tile sector faces two obstacles: on
the one hand, the difficulty of installing sizes
that require a workforce with new
qualifications; on the other, the trends driven
by interior design and architecture, sectors
that, in addition to becoming progressively
convinced of the goodness of ceramic
reproduction, are pursuing further decorative
options.
There is, however, a clear trend towards neutral
products in which temporality is key to design.
Thus, stones, marbles, woods, and cements will
continue to be of great importance. These are
joined by other noble materials, such as pure
metals, steels, and terrazzo and stracciatella
finishes, these last finishes being featured by
architects and designers of repute like David
Chipperfield, Edward Barber, Jay Osgerby, as
well as John Pawson, who used it for the new
building of the recently opened London Design
Museum.

From a decorative viewpoint, small sizes
have gained ground and the design world
is focusing on simple, traditional designs
upgraded with a renewed vision of
ceramics. Though this trend has been
developing over the last few years, it is
now strengthening and there is a great
product offer on the Spanish market.
A good example is the Giuliana Room Mate
Hotel in Milan, with interior design by
Patricia Urquiola, where the designer has
used simple, small, square ceramic pieces
combined with the colour of the tile joints
and the wall. A classic resource that has
been upgraded and enhanced.

Although industrial and Scandinavian
styles will continue to feature extensively
in today’s product offer, the pursuit of an
approach more closely focusing on
ceramics roots is gaining traction.
Moreover, large sizes will provide new
challenges, ranging from customisation to
the adaptation of sizes to each individual
design. In addition, glaze and ink printing
technologies offer manufacturers further
new possibilities, together with the option
of ceramic through-body decoration.
FLUORITE, collection by Inalco, designed with the colaboration of Katty Schiebeck

In recent years, wood has become a
key product in every cladding
company’s portfolio. The fidelity of
wood reproduction in textiles, paper,
and ceramics has led the natural wood
sector pursue new, wide-ranging
proposals.
To be noted is the retrieval of classic
installations in the quest for quality
products. Florentine parquets have
thus become one of this year’s stars.
In addition, the promotion of design
has generated new opportunities, as
well as upgraded or completely new
products regarding finishes and colour,
and even size.
Marbelous by Snedker Hansen. / Biscuit by
Patricia Urquiola for Listone Giordano
Carving Kids by Carving Floors / Assi del
Cansiglio by Itlas Pavimenti in Legno

Aged gold and pink, as well as brass and
copper, have been the outstanding finishes at
the latest design fairs. For some years,
companies and designers have been looking to
the past to recover features and materials
that have proven themselves historically.
This phenomenon responds, on the one hand,
to the quest for assured values and temporal
pieces.
On the other, the design culture seems to
advance slowly, albeit steadily, from the
recovery of design icons to the retrieval of
noble materials that provide new production
possibilities. Such is the case of the comeback
being made by metals and metallised finishes
in the habitat sector. This trend, initially
stemming from the bathroom fixtures and
furniture sector, is slowly strengthening in the
cladding sector.
Stockholm Tables de Punt Mobles. Collection of auxiliary tables
designed by Mario Ruiz, displaying a slim 3-mm envelope of pink
aluminium, gold, and bronze. The product was granted a Red Dot
2015 Award.

Crol bronze fittingsDuring the latest Milan Trade Fair, the Italian company Flaminia exhibited a
metallised version of its Roll collection designed by the Japanese studio
Nendo.

In ceramics, more classic uses are
returning of metallised finishes with
complete decorations in PVD or plasma, in
which texture combinations, matt–gloss
mixtures, and subtle effects with volumes
become design allies in these collections.
Mirror effects, subtle incrustations of
glosses and metallised and iridescent tones
make up this type of ceramic proposals.
Alea

Interior design of the Argentine restaurant Anahi in Paris by Maud Bury. Interventions in the tiles using the Japanese technique
kintsugi.

Evoke Collection by ZYX, Colorker Group

Grace - Dune

Within this trend, some
arrangements are being upgraded
with a clearly decorative intent,
such as the use of metallic profiles
combined with reproductions of
other noble materials like stone,
but also with cements and
terracottas.
Alpes Avantgrard Grey - ABK

Crea - Ariana

In its more commercial embodiment,
this trend also exhibits light touches of
wear, typical of today’s predominating,
industrially inspired market trend.
Metallic pieces display worn semi-satin
surfaces, exhibiting even brushed metal
scratch effects.
Copycat design by Cino Zucchi Architects for Decastelli

Vertical Green by De Castelli. This company, specialising in metal, has recently entered the cladding sector with a series of collections in
which the material plays a major role. In this case, a decorative piece is involved with clear Art Nouveau references.

Firenze Heritage contemporary reproduction of cotto - Fab

Metallic wallpapers by Phillip Jeffries

Elements Oro – Alea

Latente DecliveCrecimiento AsumidaEmergente
Niveldepresencia
Tiempo
Trend life cycle

One group of traditional materials acquiring a
great presence in many interior design
projects are stone-based agglomerates.
Composite materials are involved, in which a
binder joins the fragments, the binder
traditionally being natural or coloured cement
and the stone fragments coming from blocks
of unusable natural stone.
Terrazzo is today unquestionably the most
prominent such material, as interior designers
and architects greatly value its natural
character. However, alternatives such as
acrylic stone or the solid stones that replicate
the stracciatella or salt and pepper effect are
also found. The latest ceramic trade fairs
have also witnessed certain timid proposals
that retrieve this resource.
Pizzería Massa (Barcelona)

Stationery accessories by Normann
Copenhagen.

London Valentino shop - David Chipperfield

Ace Hotel Shoreditch of Universal Design Studio (London)

Revigres

Photo project "Unbalanced Ground" of Fragment Universe
Restaurante Zushi Barangaroo by Koichi Takada
Architects (Australia).

Raw by 14oraitaliana. Stone whose incrustations are
displayed in two sizes, micro and maxi, generating an
interesting effect involving the material and different
colours. s.
The search for alternatives and graphic
variations has led to references of
agglomerates (marbles and plastics) and to
natural stones in which incrustations have
become more evident.
Fragments thus become a decorative tool
and the design plays with both fragment
colour and size. In this case, the same
collection is exhibited in two sizes, an
approach that allows different finishes with
the same tone to be combined

Marvel Gems - Atlas Concorde

Bits & Pieces by Gordon Guillaumier - Ceramiche Piemme

Neri&Hu - Body Studio

Large-sized pink terrazzo at the
Odette restaurant in Singapore.
Design by Barber and Osgerby's
Universal Design Studio.

Marmorea Deco - Ceramica Fioranese

While terrazzo and stracciatella have emerged as
a slowly growing trend elsewhere in Europe in
recent years, Spain has been somewhat reluctant
to use terrazzo owing to the material’s history in
building construction. Terrazzo is associated with
low-quality or old-fashioned building construction,
as it was extensively used during the real estate
boom of the 1960s and 1970s.
In other countries, however, terrazzo has never
relinquished its status as a luxury material.
Indeed, it originated in 15th century Venetian
palaces. Nonetheless, this trend is gradually
advancing in all European countries through
projects that explore terrazzo’s most
sophisticated dimension.
Private house (Australia)

Two components are used on a design level when
working with terrazzo: colour (of the both binder
and the agglomerate particles) and the size and
source of the fragments used. “On a decorative
level, the material affords many possibilities
because one can play with colour combinations of
the stone fragments and the background”,
according to Ana Milena, co-founder of
Masquespacio studio.
From a decorative viewpoint, these materials and
finishes keep their classic aesthetics, but in
design the combination strategies with other
elements take on particular importance. The aim
is to provide materials surfaces with a clearly
contemporary, present-day character.
Studio Ossidiana uses terrazzo in
Petrified Carpets as a material with
which to develop its sculptures
inspired by the forms of Persian
gardens

Marmoreal by British designer Max
Lamb is an agglomerate product
made up of 95% marble and 5%
polyester resin. It has been specially
developed for architectural
applications.
.
Terrazos - Diespeker & Co

World paper Holy Granite - Nothing Can Go Wrng

Besare & Son’s

Installation of Arabeschi di Latte inLondon's Selfridges

Residential building in New York designed by English
architect David Chipperfield with terrazzo façade and
interiors.

Prada foundation in Milan with interior
design by film director Wes Anderson

Although this trend’s basic applications are
in flooring, these elements are increasingly
to be seen in other volumes, thanks to the
ease with which the material can be
moulded.
Hence the importance of the advances in
manufacturing technologies that allow this
effect to be reproduced, not at the
surface, but throughout the body of the
piece. The material’s possibilities and
reproductions in decorative and
architectural contexts are thus extended.
Colección Black
Stracciatella de My Kilos

Slash Objects

Ceppo di gre - Vives.
Driven by the stracciatella finishes trend,
natural stones in which fragments are
featured have also come to the fore. Thus,
some stones of igneous origin like granite,
as well as other classic natural materials,
are being reinterpreted in this way of
understanding the stone tiles from an
interior design angle.

Restaurant As Aperitivo by Nika Zupanc using granite with mouldings (Slovenia).

Made a Mano

Housing design by Parisian studio September, in which different floorings are used for
each area of the house. They include a ceramic trencadis (mosaic of tile fragments).

This trend discovers the pleasure of
surfaces: ceramics generate body and
volume together with three-dimensional
effects thanks to the technological
advances implemented in the sector.
The attention focuses on the user’s
perception. Tactility is embodied both
visually and physically in the quest for
claddings with a pronounced character,
evidencing a move towards ceramics with
greater decorative significance, albeit with
fewer traditional decorations. The intrinsic
value of the material and the texture is
highlighted, though the reproduction of
materials continues to be present in this
trend. The basic resources are geometries,
microreliefs, volumes, and surface
textures.
In the ELEUSINE collection by Japanese designer Jin Kuramoto, the Peronda company
enters the natural stone sector.

Leeds d- Casainfinita.

Microreliefs are this trend’s trump card
because they allow surfaces full of more or
less marked shades to be generated, yielding
claddings in which sensoriality is preeminent.
The trend has been ushered in by the latest
production innovations, which enable reliefs
to be recreated with greater accuracy thanks
to ink and glaze printing, together with the
improvement of classic manufacturing
processes. Textiles with reliefs, metallic
slabs, and simply volumetric decorations of
ceramic materials are some of the most
widespread reproductions. Their common
feature is the use of a neutral colour palette
and matt or semi-satin finishes.
Patchwork - Coem

Textured wallpaper by French brand Elitis.
.

Disrict - Leonardo

Maku - Fap

Taylor Art – Ceramica Sant’agostino

W_All - Flaviker

Stoneart - Marazzi

After a number of years in which
different companies have been pushing
small, voluminous, geometric sizes, this
type of collection seems to have gained
ground. The trend includes designs whose
three-dimensionality provides a creative
tool for developing a unique design.
Other resources, however, tend towards
more neutral options: a mixture of black
and white complemented with some
special pieces that reproduce wood,
cement, or metallised finishes.
Colección Evoke - ZYX (Colorker)

Spatula Concept - Metropol.

Blind of Stone Designs - Peronda

Interni - Saloni

ic showroom

The trend generates contrasts
between polished surfaces and rough
finishes, glossy and matt glazes, and
even flat and bulky forms. Products
are involved that evidence a high
level of development, while displaying
a simple aesthetic appearance with a
refined graphic repertoire without
figurative elements and having a
monochrome character or simple
colour palette, the geometry being
linear and simple on monochrome
pieces or on an extensive variety of
natural texture reproductions.
Iter - Saloni

Numi by Konstantin Grcic - Mutina

Lumina - Fap
Interni - Saloni

Ragno exhibits collections with structures and wavy surfaces, inspired by natural elements, creating striking visual effects

To be noted are also designs of opaque
glassy mosaics, and also of other materials
such as marble agglomerates. Materials
are involved with a special texture and
matt finish, readily combinable in regard
to sizes and colours.
They feature dynamics in their
installation, and also through the play
with tile-to-tile joints, as in the case of
the Nuc collection designed by Mut Design
for Peronda, which plays with the figure
and the background, inviting creative use
of viewers’ visual perception. In this case
the tile-to-tile joint plays a key role, as it
becomes the contrasting colour that gives
rise to the visual ‘deceit’.
Calm & Nuc Collections of
Harmony by Peronda

Public and home interior design in recent
years has been marked by neutral ceramics,
in which minimalism and industrial style have
predominated. Together with large sizes and
the virtual disappearance of tile joints, this
has led to a change in direction, a course
that distanced itself from ceramic tradition
to explore fields in which surfaces became
more sophisticated. Despite moving in
neutral colour palettes, these materials
marked the personality of the space.
However, every trend has its countertrend
and, in recent years, architects and interior
designers have been exploring the
possibilities of artisanal ceramics and small
sizes as a way of endowing spaces with a
singular personality.
Le Riggiole – 14oraitaiana. The Italian publisher explores the roots of
decorated ceramics by providing traditional resources with a renovated air
thanks to a sketch-like finish. Outlines and tones, marker style, for a product
with a classic air but contemporary finish.
.

Product categories thus return in which
ceramics take on a more decorative
dimension, colour becoming important
again, and craftwork models are clad.
Terracotta, revised craftwork designs,
and ceramic classics consequently
become recovered references. A trend in
which small sizes rule and are not just
related to ceramics, but seem to have
invaded surfaces generally.

The folkloric dimension of ceramics is
taken up again, retrieving ceramic
classics, but also seeking references
in other cultures and countries. Thus,
African or Latin graphics are taken as
starting points to create new designs
with a clearly decorative component.
Collections destined to play a
preeminent role in a space, with
extensive application in public
interior design, which require good
complementary pieces to enter the
home environment.
Blue Ponti – Ceramica Francesco de Maio. Official re-edition of earthenware wall tiles
designed by Gio Ponti between 1960 and 1962. Hand painted.
.

Eve and Sofia collections by Marcel
Wanders for Ceramica Bardelli. Wanders
recovers and superimposes different
handcrafted decorations that are upgraded
through colour and decomposition.

Traditional graphics of Scandinavian countries and of native Americans
by Commune for Exquisite Surfaces.
Colección Africa Now de Mosaico +

Luno collection by David Pompa produced by Uriarte
Talavera. Hand-painted, small-sized earthenware wall
tiles retrieving the craft tradition of Mexico.

Firenze Herit – Fap. Recovery of the typical finishes of traditional
faience tiles.

Small sizes are the trend’s common
denominator, the trend being
characterised by collections particularly
envisaged for playfulness and combination.
Arrays of pieces are thus sought that allow
thousands of compositions or simple
resources to be created, converting basic
items into hitherto unknown creative
elements. Such is the case of the Bezel
collection by Alea which, thanks to the
combination of a smooth piece and a
bevelled one, generates a great variety of
different forms as a function of the
designer’s taste. In this sense, the role of
design will become ever-more important in
putting forward ideas that hide complexity
within apparent simplicity. Bezel - Alea

Collezione Kiki van Eijk –
Bizarra. Natural parquet in
two sizes with a decorated
piece. It allows simple
compositions as well as
other more striking ones.
Versatile collection.

Colección Studio Job -
Bisazza

TABA space by Ibon
Salaberria, Tabakalera
(Donostia - San
Sebastián). Winner
for interior design by
ASCER

Aguamarina – Keros Cerámica
Colourfulness, an element exiled by
home interior design trends in favour
of neutral colours, has again become
a key ally of ceramics in putting
forward products that provide spaces
with a unique personality.
Crea - Ariana

Terracotta, whether natural or glazed,
is another notable classic in this trend.
A handcrafted or semi-artisanal
product with a rustic appearance is
involved that is nonetheless being used
by interior designers and architects in
designs in every style.
Villa Mammerhills (Australia)

Sant Mori Ampliation & Pérgola.
Ceremony Finalists ASCER
Arquitectura e Interiorismo.

Costa Castiglia ArquitectesHabitat España

Vivienda Átic Vernacle by
Fabricante of Esperas

Bazillion / YCL Studio. Picture by Leonas Garbačauskas

Blaze - Techlam
Although production innovations in the ceramic
sector focus on large sizes, the return to small
sizes in home decoration is unstoppable.
However, large sizes are finding new scenarios
in which to play a different role from that
traditionally reserved for ceramics.
This trend contains two apparently opposing
features, which converge production-wise in a
common approach: from XXL to XXS. With
regard to product dynamics, large sizes clearly
look to win in the factory.
“Important investments are being made by
ceramic manufacturers to produce large-sized
tiles. We are sure to see a considerable
increase in tile size” (Fran Raya).

EXTRAORDINARY SIZE new sizes 160x320 cm La Fabrica – AVA

Wonderwall – Cotto d’Este Pieces measuring 3x1 m with a decorative function displaying 12 different ‘illustrations’.

Many experts on manufacturing agree that “industrial
processes will change in the future: the large sizes
made will be used to make new smaller pieces or
pieces with different shapes. If such is the case, large
sizes will no longer be a novelty. The next step will be
that of exploring the possibilities to generate new
actual or applicable shapes that enable spaces with
ceramics to be differentiated” (Ana Martínez).
Once production excellence has been achieved in large
sizes, a long road lies ahead to which designers can also
contribute, based on their personal vision, along paths
it would be interesting to investigate in order to
develop fresh proposals, from decoration and
customisation to the creation of formats tailored to
other specific markets and uses. “I believe that words
such as customisation and manufacturing to order no
longer sound so foreign and I believe and trust that
with time this will become an important line of ceramic
manufacturing that will provide much added value for
companies that implement it” (Miguel Bartolomé).
Restaurant Noor (Cordoba) with custom Techlam flooring for the
design.

Tourist office - Acoceare - Grespania

Some widely known tile sector techniques like cutting have
become more important when it comes to generating
designs that can contribute something new to ceramics,
particularly with regard to the reproduction of materials.
“The challenge now lies in how to use the new
technologies to find fresh graphic languages, above and
beyond that of replicating materials” (Luca Pevere). The
Italian duo LucidiPevere have signed a collection for Living
Ceramics in which they use pre-cutting to provide the
collection with a new dimension.
“This technology impressed us very much because of its
unexplored potential. We focused on it and used incisions
in the tile as if we were using a pencil to write on a blank
sheet of paper that had to be decorated. When all the
incisions are filled up, the real limits of the tile
disappear”, explained Luca Pevere. “In this collection, the
tile joints, both real and false, are more important than
the tile itself”, added Paolo Lucidi.
Cava by LucidiPevere for Living Ceramics

Borgona Mix - Coem

Katmandu - Grespania

Pierre of France - Serenissima
“The latest trade fairs have demonstrated
that large sizes are advancing. Quite in
contrast, however, small sizes also seem to
be gaining ground” (Pamela Albanese).
This clear trend will make technologies like
pre-cutting, water cutting, or even CNC
(computer numerical control) cutting more
important in equipping the sector with the
necessary tools to translate a production
dynamic into solutions that address market
trends.

Evoke - Keraben.

Techlam

The new currents in regard to sizes and
installation in the wood sector also involve
an opportunity for this trend, as they allow
cost cutting in the reproduction and
installation of certain products. Thus, for
example, reduction in plank width, keeping
the traditional length, and the appearance
of unexpected joint systems like the
Biscuit collection by Patricia Urquiola for
Listone Giordano are clear examples of
new parquet designs.
The recovery of traditional installation
approaches like the Hungarian herringbone
pattern with different variants or
Florentine parquet are phenomena
occurring in luxury sectors, which are also
coming to the ceramic sector.
I Gesi, natural Wood - Garbelotto

Biscuit by Patricia Urquiola for Listone Giorndano

Wood of NatuFaber Ground - Ceramica Sant’AgostinoGarbelotto

EdilGuoghi 300 Tangram - Viva

The field of architecture, façades, and
worktops seems a reality that is slowly
becoming a profitable option for the ceramic
sector. “Thanks to these large sizes, we make
an architect or designer’s creativity infinite”
(Fran Herrera).
Large sizes are definitely here to stay in the
institutional and commercial world, such as
the HORECA (acronym of HOtels, REstaurant,
CAtering) channel, “That is where ceramic
products have a great space and are highly
desired by the builder channel, but one also
has to think here about the new functions
that products need to have, such as
resistance, intelligence, and new functions,
with a view to not falling behind new
competitors and the needs of the
environment” (Mauricio Alarcón)
Mega de Italgraniti

“The approaches for environments inside
the home require harmonising furniture
and coverings both in cladding and in
flooring, attaining total harmony in the
space” (Mila Payá).
A fully new business line is involved for
which the sector is exploring the
possibilities of the material and the
product marketing and sales and
communication channels.
Design of a kitchen in natural stone with material by A&G 23 Luxury Stone.

The crisis of modernity in the 1980s led to postmodern
philosophy and with it came a new generation of
artistic avant-gardes of various nature. One of these
was the Memphis Group, made up of designers from
Italy, Spain, Japan, and the United States, who
pursued a new way of understanding design.
A young generation that, counter to the good design
current that came from Germany, proposed colourful
designs with a great formal spectacularity that
sometimes somewhat disregarded functionality.
Although the movement was a great hit at the Milan
trade fair when it launched in 1980, the group
dissolved eight years later. However, its philosophical
and particularly its formal and colour legacy remains
etched in the history of design.
Christian Dior Haute Couture 2013
Inspired by the Memphis style
Fall-Winter Collection
2014 Peter Pilotto

Gnomo shop. Interior design of Masquespacio (Valencia)

It is little wonder that a few decades later, also at
a time of social and value crisis, today’s designers
look back to movements of the past in search of
answers. Just as the Memphis Group represented a
vibrant, colourful reaction to the prevailing
international style of the time, New Memphis also
consolidates itself as a reaction after years clearly
dominated by minimalist aesthetics, in which the
industrial style and Scandinavian design had
removed colour from interior design.
Although this resurgence already commenced some
years ago, to date it just involved environments
for design trade fairs and the work of designers
and groups on the outskirts of design.
No Sweat! by Darryl Agawin puts forward a series of pieces
that act as furniture and, simultaneously, as a home gym.
The relation with the Memphis Group is both aesthetic and
conceptual.

Only of late has the habitat industry begun to feel
true interest for this movement, perhaps more
from an aesthetic than a conceptual viewpoint.
What is certain, however, is that the growth of the
New Memphis trend has led to a significant
transformation of stylistic and formal resources.
The graphics and geometries of this revitalisation
have adapted to current tastes, with somewhat
more synthesised and sophisticated decorations
and less pure colours located in the low scales.
Xo - 14oraitaliana
Chroma table lamp (in the picture) designed by Arturo
Erbsman for Roche Bobois.
Chanclo by Doshi
Levien for BD
Barcelona Design.

Graphic design by Yoko
Honda and Tim Colman
However, prints and graphic compositions
remain important. Bright finishes can be
found, in addition to the use of vibrant and
even fluorescent colours. In these finishes,
geometric shapes play a major role and
products are generally observed to be
influenced by a cheerful, light-hearted
graphic design current. Surface prints are
also gaining ground.
A trend is involved that has penetrated very
deeply into the wallpaper sector and has
also been transferred to hydraulic tile.
Nowadays, there are also a great many
examples in small-sized glazed stoneware
and porcelain tile.

Hannah Richard Paper
Collection

Generative design project by urban
artist Eltono at Espai d´Art
Contemporani in Castellón, starting
out from established premises that
then lead to compositions of large
dimensions using shape and colour.

Marmolada and Extra Habitat
wallpaper by the Italian brand
Texturae.

San Gimignano Wallpaper by Hannah
Waldron for Pizza Express in
collaboration with the English studio
Graphic Thought Facility.

Plus by Alessio Zanzarella - Ornamenta

80s by Davide Aquino - Ornamenta

Pattern 1 , 2 by Michelle Weinberg for Clé Tiles

Marmo Pop - Cerdisa

Magma collection by Made a Mano and
British designer Faye Toogood featured
during the London Design Festival 2016.
To be noted within this trend is decoration
using simple geometry, a classic Memphis
movement resource. Circles, squares, or
triangles thus make up collections
characterised by application versatility, as
they enable users to play with compositions,
adapting them to the space.

Bert & May and Darkroom collection

Puzzle by Barber & Osgerby - Mutina

Encaustic Tile - Clé Tiles

Trend life cycle
Latente DecliveCrecimiento AsumidaEmergente
Niveldepresencia
Tiempo

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Ceramic tiles trends 17 18

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