November Pattern – Willow

November Pattern – Willow

Hand-drawn trees in an architecture plan inspired Willow, a ‘60s design staple.

Amazing ideas can blossom when we look at our environment from a new perspective. This is how the Willow pattern came to be in 1965. 

In-house Formica^® Laminate designer Bob Ford was considering the look of an iconic architectural tool - hand-drawn trees in plan view. This led to the creation of Willow, and the company introduced the design in the colour shades of the era.

Hand-drawing is incredibly useful throughout the design process. Designers use it to explore concepts and ideas, illustrate mechanical relationships, and communicate and collaborate. Drawings often tell a better and more visually interesting story due to the intimate link between the artist and the outside world. 

In recent years, architectural renderings and drawings have been produced almost exclusively with computer-aided design software. While useful, this invention has fundamentally changed the look and feel of new construction projects. 

But software can never quite replicate the intricacies and fresh ideas captured when drawing by hand, something the Formica Group Design team knows well and is why the Formica^® Collection contains a mix of computer generated and hand-crafted designs.

Learn more about Willow in this video: