Australian Design History
The Australian Museum of Design (AMoD), founded by Margaux Everett in 2022, is dedicated to preserving and celebrating Australia’s rich history of hand-drawn textile design. Once thriving, Australian textile design reached its peak during the 20th century, capturing cultural moments and timeless elegance. However, by the mid-1980s, the rise of digital tools and the shift to offshore production marked a decline in this craft, with many original designs lost to history.
Now, modern technology enables us to bring these designs back to life in innovative ways, reimagining them as wallpapers, fabrics, and artwork for contemporary use. AMoD’s collection showcases designs ranging from culturally significant moments to those with enduring elegance, responding to a growing global demand for authentic and original creations.
Through strategic partnerships and licensing opportunities, AMoD connects these designs to modern applications while fostering a community passionate about preserving this heritage. With the help of technology, we’ve even reconnected with artists and their descendants, enriching the stories behind the designs.
“Sharing these designs across our platforms sparks incredible community support. Volunteers help preserve the collection, while others provide missing details, enriching the narrative of Australian design history and ensuring its legacy continues to inspire.”
AMoD has firmly established itself as a critical resource for researchers, academics, and curators from prominent Australian universities, providing unparalleled access to a wealth of original hand-drawn textile designs and cultural insights. Its collection serves as a cornerstone for academic study, curatorial projects, and the preservation of Australia’s design heritage.
Commissioned Artists & Designers
During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, textile design houses worked in collaboration with various artists and designers to create patterns for wallpapers and fabrics. This practice was widely accepted within the industry, and it marked an era of innovation and artistic exploration.
In these decades, design houses recognised the value of diverse, eclectic, and sometimes unconventional artistic perspectives into their collections. To achieve this, they actively sought out talented individuals who could contribute unique patterns and designs. These artists and designers were often hired as freelancers or on a project basis.
What distinguished this period was the prevailing norm that these collaborations didn’t necessarily involve crediting individual artists for their work. Instead, the resulting patterns and designs were considered the intellectual property of the design company itself.
This practice allowed the companies to maintain a cohesive brand identity while benefiting from a diverse range of creative influences.
The anonymity of the artists behind these patterns was, in a way, a testament to the primacy of the design house. It underscored the idea that the company’s vision and brand took precedence over individual recognition. Artists and designers were willing participants in this arrangement, often motivated by the opportunity to see their work reach a wide audience through the production and distribution capabilities of these established design houses.
As a result, the textile and wallpaper industry flourished with an array of captivating, diverse, and often groundbreaking designs during this period. The collaboration between design houses and the talented artists they employed, even if uncredited, played a vital role in shaping the aesthetic landscape of Australian design history and the world of interior design.
Original Design on Film
Scanned and Digitised Design
