Beneath the Surface Blog

In design, it’s not always what you add, but instead what you take away that makes the biggest impact. Case and point: perforations. This design trend has been taking off in all areas, and can be found on interior walls, ceilings, building exteriors, and even furniture.

Unlike simply adding elements to create visual interest, this subtractive method uses the “less is more” philosophy to enhance aesthetics. The voids create dramatic and visually light spaces that not only look sleek and clean, but fresh and dynamic. Take a peek at some of our favorite uses of perforations below. 

Leave links to your favorite perforated designs and we'll add them to the image collection!

Images compiled by GPI Design

Individual image credits: PWSteel, TheCoolHunter, GoToInteriorDesign, DesignSpotter, DesignMilk, LouiseCampbell, InteriorShowOff, ChicTip

We love Twitter because we can always see the creativity and feel the enthusiasm in the design world, and that energy flow makes us want to keep moving forward. This week, we saw a couple of great museum designs and interesting lamps introduced by our "tweeps". Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Natural History Museum of Utah tweet via @CarterDesignInc

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Natural History Museum of Utah Interior

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"Bring on 2014 and the new Design Museum" tweet via @DesignEventNE

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“Singapore's new bridge,Helix, resembles a double helix structure & is wonderfully illuminated by LED lights.” Tweet via @DreamwallsGlass

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“[feed] Gudpaka Lamp by gt2P: No Wookiees were harmed in the making of this lamp.” tweet via @Daniel_Hamilton

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“Do we have any science fans in the house? This chandelier is made from chemistry test tubes. “ tweet via @PegasusLighting

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TWeekly Archive is GPI Design's new blog column that updates every Friday to feature innovative and inspiring architecture, interior, and lighting designs that are shared through Twitter within the week. We always appreciate tweeps who constantly refresh our minds by sharing great articles, pictures, and videos. If you have something that you feel like sharing and want it featured on our blog, leave a link in the comment or simply @gpidesign on Twitter. We are always hungry for cool designs! 

Structural wood designs were buzzing on Twitter this week! In these featured designs, the material is shaped, woven, formed, and layered into both spaces and objects.

Metropol Parasol: Largest Wood Structure in the World tweet via @threefiftyneuro

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Lucien Pellat-Finet Shinsaibashi / Kengo Kuma & Associates “It was a collaboration between fashion and plant-likened architecture.” tweet via @KUNGarchitect

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ICD:ITKE Research Pavilion / Oliver David Krieg, Boyan Mihaylov tweet via @DoreReam

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The Rise of The Designer Bakery  "The rise of the Designer bakery? A great business concept for town centres don't you think?” tweet via @PlaceShaper

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“some AMAZING detailing here, ONLY in Japan ‘GC Prostho Museum Research Center / Kengo Kuma & Associates’ ” tweet via @GintasReisgys

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TWeekly Archive is GPI Design's new blog column that updates every Friday to feature innovative and inspiring architecture, interior, and lighting designs that are shared through Twitter within the week. We always appreciate tweeps who constantly refresh our minds by sharing great articles, pictures, and videos. If you have something that you feel like sharing and want it featured on our blog, leave a link in the comment or simply @gpidesign on Twitter. We are always hungry for cool designs!

As we voyage into 2012, the hexagonal geometric form is appearing everywhere. The way in which this relatively simplistic form can be manipulated into patterns, textures, and overall structures, makes it a popular and versatile choice for a graphic aesthetic. Here are some of our favorite uses of hexagons that create truly dynamic and intriguing designs.

While most often treated as a flat plane in graphic motifs, the spatial possibilities of the hexagon shape are most interesting when it is extruded or modeled into three dimensions.

Images compiled by GPI Design, individual image credits: TheCoolHunter, ArchitecturalDigest, DesignMilk, TrendLand, Tang Chan via Flickr