Why the design world is obsessed with spirals
The unexpected reason we all like them.
The lazy jamie spiral flatware has been a runaway bestseller ever since it launched, as has the matching spiral cheese knife set. The spiral has effectively become a brand signature, and we’ve carried it through to candle holders, martini picks, and soon the base of our forthcoming TV tray table.
But a proclivity to the spiral is not exclusive to lazy jamie. The spiral frequently appears across categories from artists and designers like Alexander Calder, Paul Tuttle (who inspired our TV tray table base), Sophie Buhai, and of course, nature—the original designer.
Nature has been perfecting the spiral for millions of years.
Take the nautilus shell, which grows outward without changing form, adding new chambers in a logarithmic spiral that maintains proportion throughout development. This isn't just beautiful—it's functional. The spiral allows for expansion while maintaining structural integrity and using minimal materials.
Be it the DNA double helix, a fiddlehead, or the vortex of a hurricane—nature repeatedly uses the spiral as an organizing principle (see: the Fibonacci sequence).
What then makes these spirals so compelling to designers is that they reflect this perfect balance of order and dynamism. They suggest both stability and movement, structure and flow.
When designers use spirals, it’s not just something pretty—whether conscious of it or not, they’re tapping into a pattern our brains have evolved to recognize and respond to. Our visual systems are primed to identify these natural patterns, creating an immediate sense of rightness and harmony.
This isn't just pleasing—it's psychologically comforting. We innately understand spirals because we ourselves are products of the same natural processes that create them.
In a world increasingly separated from nature, spiral designs reconnect us to these fundamental patterns, satisfying a deep biophilic need—our inherent desire to connect with nature and its forms.
They remind us that good design doesn't need to reinvent the wheel; sometimes it just needs to recognize the perfection that already exists.
Yes this is so up my alley. My camera roll is filled with swirls🌀
adore u <3