Impact case studies

Innovation and commercialisation in wallpaper design through creative practice, interactivity and public participation.

Taylor & Wood Creative Partnership, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies

Impact summary

A series of Graham & Brown wallpapers based on the designs of Taylor and Wood have been produced and are promoted in the company's in-house publication What Walls Want.

The designs ('Frames', 'Blank Cheque', 'Witness', and 'Flowers') are sold through major retailers including B&Q. Over 120,000 rolls of Frames wallpaper have been sold since its launch in 2002.

Taylor and Wood have contributed towards the competitiveness and profitability of the international manufacturing company Graham & Brown, broadening its creative range as well as providing opportunities for product development.

In 2013, 'Frames' was selected as an 'Anniversary product', with new printings in gold metallic and pink.

Underpinning research

Taylor and Wood's practice-based research is based around a dissemination of practice and the translation of creative practice into the commercial sphere.
Their research also consistently attempts to break down the boundaries between art, craft, and design, highlighting the dialectic between their `artworks' in the public gallery and the translation of these 'artworks' into commercially mass-produced design.

The partnership's practice-based participatory research has since evolved to confront issues such as authorship, interactivity, creativity and dissemination through the format of repeat pattern wallpaper.