The recent sad death of Jill Stansfield saw the passing of a significant figure in the design profession in Australia.
Stansfield was a well-recognized textile designer, marketer and colour expert, who made a major contribution to her profession with her selfless volunteering for design causes, eventually becoming the first female national president of the Design Institute of Australia.
Stansfield graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Arts in Textile Design in 1984, and prior to this she trained in the Interior Design Diploma from 1968 to 1971. Her early employment was with the notable firm of Clunes Ross Packman in a sales role, and as a consultant decorator from 1970—71. The following year she worked as freelance decorator before joining Comspring Fabrics, where she remained as a manager and company director until 1979.
Stansfield joined the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) in 1984, and immediately served on the Victorian council before becoming Victorian state president from 1992 to 1995. At this time she was instrumental in founding the Australian Textile Designers Association, which merged with the DIA in 1998. From 1995 to 1998 Stansfield served as the national president of the DIA, and brought a new impetus to the institute. She was awarded a life fellowship in 1998 in recognition of her contribution to the profession.
She had a life-long interest in colour and its application and impact on our lives, which had originated in her student years. Of course, her freelance decorator work involved her in this sphere, and I was delighted to have her strong support in establishing Colourways, a colour forecasting subscription organization, which managed to engage designers and manufacturers in Australia for several years, and eventually became a DIA program.
As a long-standing friend, notable designer Sandy Geyer recalls, “It was around 2000 when Jill, along with Alan Whitfield at Swinburne University, commenced a study investigating whether colour trends reflect the prevailing socio-cultural lifestyle conditions of a society. The research investigated changes in Australian residential interiors over the twentieth century.”
Stansfield maintained a determined and stoical stance with her battle with multiple myeloma for the past ten years, to which she finally succumbed.
She will be remembered by her many friends and colleagues in the design community, and as the loving partner of Paul and much-loved mother of Emma, Chloe and Skye. The adoring grandmother of Jemima, William, Ruby, Sarah and Lachlan and mother-in-law of Ian, Stephen and Rory.
