Wallpaper stories – winning designs from Illustratörcentrum

The winners of the Photowall and Illustratörcentrum wallpaper design competition, announced earlier this year, have now been selected. The competition’s renowned jury has handpicked five exciting designs which jointly make up Wallpaper Stories – an exciting, innovative collection in which each design tells a story.

When Photowall organised a design competition with Illustratörcentrum, Sweden’s largest agency in visual communication, for their more than 1,400 members, the aim was to find innovative, unexpected wall mural designs. This was realised with more than 200 entries received – created by some of Sweden’s leading graphic designers and illustrators.

Maria Wahlström’s creative flirtation with notepads, Anna-Maria Ivstedt’s pattern influenced by the Korean patchwork technique Pojagi, and Gustaf Öhrnell’s fantasy-filled fairy-tale map are three of the five winning designs chosen by the jury. The collection’s designs are unified by a desire to tell a story.

“I think you can see how the designs want to communicate – that there’s a story the illustrator wants to convey. It’s incredibly exciting for us that the winners were chosen with an objective eye, based solely on artistic criteria. All the entries were anonymous during the selection process to ensure they were judged on equal terms, and to genuinely highlight the actual motif.We’ll definitely be keeping our eyes on more potential interesting future collaborations which we identified in connection with the competition,” says Niklas Johansson, one of the founders of Photowall.

The collection contains five designs which are available as made-to-measure wall murals costing £32 per square metre. The interior images for the collection were photographed by Kristofer Johnsson and styled by Josefin Hååg.

The winning illustrators:

Anna-Maria Ivstedt with the design Squares

Jury’s statement:

In this elegant yet playful wall mural, hard geometry is combined with soft brushstrokes. The pattern is both classic and contemporary, like a modern update of Viola Gråsten’s classic patterns from the 1950s.

Maria Wahlström with the design Notepad

Jury’s statement:

Drawing on the wall is now allowed. This wall mural with patterns from different kinds of notepad is based on a strong conceptual idea that also works visually and inspires creativity. Works equally well in a workspace or playroom.

Gustaf Öhrnell with the design Merry Maritime Map

Jury’s statement:

The map images, typography and illustrations in this wall mural inspire journeys into the world of fantasy. The execution is exquisite, from the retro feel in the dove-blue colour to the handwritten font. The dreamy atmosphere leads one’s thoughts both to classic adventure books and to the wondrous films of director Wes Anderson.

Henrik Franklin with the design Big Spaces in Small Places

Jury’s statement:

Thanks to the wealth of detail and highly driven craftsmanship in this surreal black and white wall mural, there is always something new to find. At the same time there is a meditative calm in the flow of images, which is rich with associations. An extremely creative wall mural somewhat reminiscent of Öyvind Fahlström or Hieronymus Bosch.

Eva Lindgren with the design Cone

Jury’s statement:

A classic repeat pattern with a modern touch and a three-dimensional feeling of depth. Art Deco for the digital age.

Read more about the illustrators and their designs on our blog.

The jury:

Pia-Maria Falk – Editor-in-chief Åhléns Magasin

Elsebeth Welander-Berggren – Museum Director Sven-Harrys Art Museum

Bo Madestrand – Editor-in-chief of the magazine Form

Lotta Agaton – Interior stylist Link Deco

Noel Pretorius – Art Director Lowe Brindfors

For further information, please contact: 

Caroline Agné  
Managing Director, Illustrators’ Centre  
caroline@illustratorcentrum.se 

Lina Forsberg 
PR & Content Manager, Photowall
lina.forsberg@photowall.se