Anatomy Of A Design: A Closer Look At Palladio Volume I

Peter Gomez, Head of Design at Zoffany, joins us to discuss the recently debuted Palladio Volume I wallpaper collection.


Precarious Pangolins – 2018; Designed by Sam Wilde.

Raymond Paul Schneider: When did you first start to develop this new collection?
Peter Gomez: We’re absolutely delighted to unveil Palladio Volume I, a project that’s been kept tightly under wraps for a very long time.

Raymond: What was the overall time-line from conception to achieving the final design?
Peter: Collections generally take two years from inception to completion, many collections are worked on at the same time.

Raymond: What was your initial inspiration, and where did the idea come from?
Peter: Inspiration was the original pattern books for Palladio in the archive, the ethos behind the original company of working with young designers and architects to create exciting British design really inspired the Zoffany studio to further build on this legacy of platforming design talent and celebrating the Palladio archive itself with its array of unique designs.


Medallion – 1958; Designed by Robert Nicholson.

Raymond: Please describe your overall creative and design process.
Peter: We really delve deep into the story behind each design and each individual artist who took part in Palladio. It was important to be faithful to the original creators preserving their handwriting and mark making, bringing these designs up to date through color and beautiful print processes.

What was different with Palladio was exploring all of this history outside our brand, getting to know Nancy Nicholson, daughter of Roger Nicholson and speaking to her about her father’s work. We often work with much older archives of 17th / 18th-century documents where these items are out of context, Palladio has a much more recent history – it was lovely to speak first hand with individuals who had such a direct relationship with the collections and offered a rare insight into their creation.

Additionally, and for the first time, Zoffany has collaborated with a young talent from the Royal College of Art; this was a great exchange of ideas and a different style of working for us. Sam Wilde designed everything digitally and his approach of bio appropriation, highlighted the plight of the pangolins providing a real contrast to the hand printing of the original Palladio designs.

Raymond: Did you have a specific audience or theme that you had in mind?
Peter: Palladio really speaks to the design community, stepping outside just the interiors world, we wanted each design to emote and connect with audiences. They are fun feature designs that make a statement and invoke a reaction.


Impact – 1967; Designed by Judith Cash.

Raymond: Please describe the methods, tools, and materials that you used to develop and prototype this design?
Peter: In order to keep the integrity of Palladio, all the archive designs were developed through hand screen printing and the produced versions were rotary screen printed, which is very close to the original.

Raymond: Did you utilize a new technique or technology to conceptualize this product?
Peter: The guest designer slot is digitally printed, it’s a great reflection of how technologies have moved and what it means to be a designer today.

Raymond: Please describe any challenges that affected the design and perhaps steered you to an entirely new final design?
Peter: One of the challenges was converting some of these designs, as they were intended to be in public places and no longer fit into our machine sizes so this took some scale adjustment.

Raymond: Describe your overall brand DNA and Ethos
Peter: British heritage brand, Zoffany is the perfect partner for interior designers around the globe, providing the finest fabric, wallcoverings and paint. Ethos: To bring the beautiful into people’s homes and lives through the visual and sensual qualities of art.


Click here to see more of our “Anatomy of a Design” series.

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