Try as you might, you will be hard-pressed to find a perfectly straight line in nature — certainly not in the undulating raw power of our oceans and seas. Although he designs within the exacting dimensions of squares and planks, product designer David Oakey found inspiration and synergy while creating Net Effect, a collection that reflects the beauty of our largest natural resource. The Net Effect product collection provides a subtle visual reminder of the sea on its surface, with a design reminiscent of swirling currents.
Introducing Net Effect Every body of water on the planet has its own unique symphony of blue. While most of the sun's UV rays are absorbed into the depths, the short wavelengths of blue light are reflected off algae, phytoplankton and marine life—leading to swirling sapphires, aqueous aquamarines and turbulent teals. All of which inspired the colourways in Net Effect.
Net Effect’s three 50 cm square tiles – comprising a neutral ground, transition tile and textural accent—evoke the sea with a texture that references the moment when waves wash over land. Discover the nuance of transitions when the three different textures are set side by side in the same color. The three tiles can be combined to create design elements including continuous transitions, borders and inset area rugs.
The square tiles’ organic forms pair beautifully with three 25 cm x 1 m skinny plank styles that capture the fluidity of water and convey the expanding and contracting rhythms of the tides with more linear patterns. The square and plank tiles’ shared coastal colour palette of two blues and six neutrals was drawn from the depths of the ocean, and the sun-and-salt-bleached wood and stone found on shore. Reimagine the complexity of light moving through water by mingling several of the eight colors into one composition.
Closing the loop The collection was born of Net-Works, an innovative global business and conservation partnership between Interface and the conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Net-Works was launched in the Danajon Bank area of the Philippines in 2012 to tackle two distinct issues: first, to address the growing environmental problem of discarded fishing nets in some of the world’s poorest coastal communities, and second, to help solve the problem of finding a viable waste stream to feed the company's ambitious post-consumer nylon recycling goals.
Interface works closely with Aquafil, a key Interface supplier that has refined the technology to recycle nylon waste into new nylon carpet fibre, and NGO Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation Inc, Net-Works is advancing the company’s goal of closed-loop manufacturing.
