Memphis is an Italian design and architecture movement founded in Milan in 1980 by designer Ettore Sottsass, known for bright colours, geometric shapes, bold patterns and cheap materials such as plastic laminate. The group — the Memphis Group or Memphis Milano — disbanded in 1987, but the style has resurfaced repeatedly in interiors and graphic design ever since.
Characteristics
- Bright, clashing colours — hot pink, turquoise, yellow and black side by side
- Basic geometric shapes — circles, triangles, cones and zigzags, often stacked asymmetrically
- Patterns — squiggles, speckles and terrazzo-like prints (the well-known “Bacterio” motif)
- Everyday materials — plastic laminate, chipboard and coated metal instead of fine hardwood
- Form over function — a cabinet is allowed to be impractical as long as it makes a statement
Background
Memphis was a reaction against the austere, functional modernism of the 1970s, in which form had to follow function. The name comes from a Bob Dylan song that played repeatedly during the founding meeting. The movement belongs to postmodernism: as in postmodern architecture, ornament, colour and historical quotation are deliberately allowed back in.
Memphis in practice
In building and interiors the influence shows up mainly in:
- Furniture, lamps and clocks built up from blocky, colourful elements
- Terrazzo and speckled floors, resin floors with colour flakes
- Shop and hospitality interiors designed to stand out rather than stay neutral
- Colourful tile patterns and accent walls
If you want to use it at home without the result becoming restless: keep the base (floor and walls) calm and limit Memphis to a few accents.
Related terms
- Postmodernism
- Modernism
- Art deco
- Bauhaus
- Ornament
- Terrazzo
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