Expedia’s transit-themed huddle room. Image © IA Interior Architects.

In a world of visual stimulation, it is one of our jobs as design practitioners to sort through the noise and distill the most important message. Patterns are a huge asset in the environmental graphic design (EGD) work we do because they allow us to visually represent many things, from people and beliefs to history and tradition. Patterns are more than polka dots and stripes. They help make sense of all that information through recurring and regular arrangements, and by creating a sense of harmony.