Is less really more? In reaction to the reign of Minimalism, designers, artists, and architects are rediscovering the power of patterns and embracing decors once rejected as superfluous, by covering lamps, chairs, rooms or entire facades with stripes, polka dots and ornamental designs.

This definitive overview is the book that launched the new trend in publications about patterns. Using examples of contemporary work by internationally renowned designers such as Fabio Novembre, Claesson Koivisto Rune and Karim Rashid, by architects such as Herzog & de Meuron, Steven Holl and Sauerbruch Hutton, and artists such as Bridget Riley and Gerhard Richter, it lays out a kaleidoscope of colours and forms before the reader. Multidisciplinary approaches and applications, and new interpretations of traditional motifs are illustrated, as well as the impact and influence of technical innovations such as laser engraving and digital milling on the creation and realization of patterns today.