Circles, triangles and squares. Often described as the most elementary of the sciences, for many the word “geometry” is enough to bring them out in a cold sweat and send shivers down the spine. Perhaps it has to do with those geometric shapes one had to shove through the right holes of a wooden box as a toddler, or the many hours spent sweating over formulas in science class.

This year’s edition of the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair saw a great deal of designs almost completely shaped by, or drawing inspiration from geometrical patterns and shapes. Circles, cubes and triangles could be seen everywhere – the latter often with a strong nod towards the 1980s, when that particular shape had its last heyday. Looking back in time, at the aesthetic preferences of Islamic art and architecture, Art Deco and Bauhaus, geometry has always been a popular notion for designers and artists to work with.

Today’s geometry in design is slightly different. There is a simplicity in the use of geometrics, which can be interpreted as providing a calming motif in challenging times. Structure and order for the eye, so to speak. Some eye-catching examples from the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair is the breath-taking collection Keep by design duo Straight, Massproductions’s zigzag sofa Anyway and the work of Swedish construction company Baux, co-founded by the guys at Form Us With Love. Baux is introducing six geometrical shapes as the foundation for all their pattern-based wall-coverings. It is good to see that all those hours spent in science class weren’t a waste of time, after all.