Astrid Sylwan

A nominee for the Carnegie Art Award in 2010, Astrid Sylwan is a print designer to watch. Recently joining the ranks of Marimekko, her newest print Vattenblänk is the most complex print pattern that the Finnish textile company has produced to date. The detailed gradient effects, overlapping colors and an extremely large repeat are only some of the techniques it took to turn her poetic print into reality.

Finding inspiration from inside herself, she prefers that her prints evoke emotion instead of clear illustrative imagery. Her design process relies on finding the unexpected through the expected. “My working process is a mixture of total control and improvisation. I always start with a plan that goes wrong eventually. Even with the Marimekko prints, I found a new direction through experimentation.” Sylwan’s expressive vision aligns well with Marimekko’s encouraging creative atmosphere and her deliberate use of color and artistic integrity promise a fruitful partnership with Marimekko.