I was pretty amazed yesterday to see that Google’s home page design was in celebration of Josef Frank’s 125th birthday. It’s not exactly a public holiday or day of global celebration. In fact, I imagine most Americans would be asking ‘who on earth is Josef Frank?’ But the ‘doodle’ created to mark the occasion will still be familiar to anyone interested in design.

Josef Frank, of course, was the Austrian-Swedish architect and designer who created the fantastical designs still seen in textiles today. What’s incredible is that, even though he was born 125 years ago and passed away in 1967, his designs still look so incredibly fresh and modern. To my mind, that’s the mark of true innovation. Feast your eyes on some of these examples of his work.

All from Svenskt Tenn.

And, just to show how wonderful Frank’s designs can look in a contemporary space, check out this image from Apartment Therapy.

Ah, a ray of sunshine for the start of the weekend, don’t you think?

So, which other designers do you think should feature in the Google homepage doodle?