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Ch26. 拆招CMF設計談給顏色取名
CMF is a specific discipline within industrial design that focuses on the development of a product’s color, material, and finish. Unwrap CMF shares bite-sized stories of CMF Design to inform and inspire those interested in this niche yet fascinating field, with digestible contents for anyone and everyone. Comments and inspirations are welcome!
Oxford Blue, Space Gray, Apple Green, Coral Red, Sunshine Yellow… These popular names are fine if there is no unique request, but if otherwise, how do you name your colors? (中文請見下方)
???? 1️⃣ Speak of the mood: Color and material is a strong visual language, so is ????????. If used right, words can stimulate sensory and emotions matching to the CMF intent. For example, Icy Blue is not just about a pale shade of blue, it is also about the coolness of the material, and the frostiness of the finishing.
To jump-start with naming, I find it easier to start with brainstorming: “What does this CMF remind you of?” and then work it down the way to emotions. If it reminds you of candies, then it’s about sweetness, joyful moments, childhood memories, holiday gathering, and so on and on. With this method, you wouldn’t be drought with inspirations.
???? 2️⃣ Avoid negativity: A tricky wording game that is ? No one is going to buy a sad product, so for example, instead of “lonely”, use another word that provokes the bravery of being solitary, or the peacefulness of a calming state.
???? 3️⃣ Keep it understandable: Yes, you want it to be special, but don’t over-drive creativity with naming. After all, it is for the mass audience. Being too fancy might risk your chance of being recognized.
If this color name is used during product development and you are working with a global team, also make sure the name is pronounceable. You don’t want a tongue-twisting name to mess up supplier meetings.
???? 4️⃣ Avoid using brand name: We often use well-known brands to describe their unique colors, such as Ferrari Red and Tiffany Blue, but that is not ideal whether for internal communication or external marketing color name.
First of all, that action can lead to copyright concerns, or make your brand seem like a copy cat. Also, from an execution perspective, products in the market usually have somewhat level of color differences between batches, so if you use their products as color reference, there is a chance that people are holding reference samples that are different from the ones in your hand, and leads to possible miscommunication.
Therefore, if top management or client ever ask to reference a color from another brand, act fast to define a color of your own, and immediately give it a new name for future communication.
???? 5️⃣ Don’t forget about M & F: Aside from color hues, the surface finishing of the material is just as important in CMF. “Brick Red” as an example, it hints a warm shade of orange-red, as well as the rough sandy texture. Therefore, it wouldn’t make much sense to name a high-gloss warm red as “Brick Red”.
???? 6️⃣ Cross-check cultural meaning: Lastly but very importantly, keep in mind of color meaning in different cultures and make sure the it does not imply any inappropriate message in other regions (violent, death, sexual, etc.), especially where you products are sold.
An easy checklist for all you CMF genies. I hope all of you find color naming as fun as I do! ?
Continue reading:
Ch19. Unwrapping CMF Design on Storytelling with CMF Moodboard
List of Color Names as Inspirations
CMF為Color Material and Finishing，屬於工業設計旗下專注於產品色彩、材質、及表面處理工藝的關鍵一環。Unwrap CMF彩材拆拆圍繞著這個主題，以淺而易懂的小故事拆解CMF設計的日常。歡迎留言分享！
牛津藍、深空灰、蘋果綠、珊瑚紅、陽光黃……如果沒有特定的需求，這些常見的顏色名好像也OK，但如果你需要給顏色一個獨特的命名，你都如何取名呢？
???? 1️⃣ 文字需展現情緒：色彩和材質是強力的視覺語言，而語言本身也是。如果使用得當，文字也可以激發與CMF相互對應的感官和情緒。例如，冰霜藍不僅僅是描述一個淺淺的藍色，同時，它也暗示著涼爽的材質，甚至是仿若冰霜的表面觸感。
在頭腦風暴的時候，我發現這個自問自答有助於發想：「這個CMF會讓你想起什麼？」，然後再一步步將之推向情緒的描述。如果它讓你想起糖果，那麼它就是關於甜蜜、快樂時光、童年回憶、節日的團聚氣氛…以此一步在一步的類推。運用這個聯想方法，靈感絕對不會乾枯。
???? 2️⃣ 避免負面的字彙：其實就是個文字遊戲? 沒有消費者會想購買「悲傷的產品」，因此，舉例而言，與其「孤單」的形容詞，不如換一種說法，替換成形容「獨自挑戰的勇氣」或是「寧靜的獨我空間」之類的字詞。
???? 3️⃣ 使其易於理解：我們都希望自己的顏色命名很獨特，但千萬不要過度操作創造力。畢竟顏色名是面向大眾的，如果太過花裡胡哨可能會造成不被理解的風險。
另外，如果這個顏色名被運用在產品開發的過程中，而且有全球各地的團隊共同合作，那還需要確保該命名的字詞易懂、發音簡單易讀，才不會因為一個令人費解的顏色名而變成會議和溝通之間的繞口令炸彈。
???? 4️⃣ 避免使用品牌名：不少人習慣用知名品牌來形容其獨特的顏色，比如法拉利紅（Ferrari Red）、蒂芙尼藍（Tiffany Blue），但無論是作為內部溝通或對外的市場配色名，這都不是理想的顏色命名方式。首先，這個舉動容易引起版權紛爭，或者被披上抄襲的標籤；如果再以實際操作層面考量，他牌產品也會有版本色差的極大可能（比如包裝盒印刷批次之間的顏色差異），所以如果以他牌顏色作為標準，很可能會遇到不同人手中參考樣品之間帶有色差的情況。
因此，如果老闆或客戶提議要「借鑑」哪一品牌的某某色，遇到這種無法拒絕的情況時，趕快重新定義一個屬於自己品牌的顏色及標準樣，並馬上賦予其全新的顏色名作為往後溝通用吧！
???? 5️⃣ 別忘了材質及表面處理：除了色彩，表面質感也是CMF相當重要的一部份。如果是「磚紅」，除了暖相的橘紅色彩之外，也會使人聯想到粗糙的砂岩表面，因此如果是高光的紅色，取名「磚紅」就不太適合了。
???? 6️⃣ 檢查文化含義：最後一點但也是非常重要的是，請格外注意顏色命名在不同文化中的含義，並確保它在各個區域的語言中沒有任何不妥的暗示（如暴力、死亡、性暗示等）。尤其是產品所出售的地區，更需要格外小心（可以找當地的同事幫忙確認）。
以上是我平時在顏色命名時的小小訣竅，希望各位CMF小天才們也和我一樣在命名中找到樂趣！?
這是「日本色彩物語」的內頁，介紹日文顏色名的歷史背景或者來自於大自然的啟發。
In different languages and regions, color naming is often uniquely inspired by arts and culture of the time-being.
This is a sample page of “Japanese Color Story”, introducing the historical background of Japanese color names or inspiration from nature.
這是「中国传统色」的內頁，介紹中國歷史典藏中的用色，另附一本方便攜帶的色卡。
In different languages and regions, color naming is often uniquely inspired by arts and culture of the time-being.
This is a sample page of “Traditional Chinese Colors”, introducing the colors used in Chinese historical art collections.
It also comes with a set of easy-to-carry color cards.
Books and websites on color nomenclature always come in handy when in need of inspirations.
Some version of Pantone books also come with creative color names for reference!
CMF學無止境，善用CMF關鍵字在網上深入鑽研，歡迎大家留言補充。
Enjoy learning? Use the CMF terminologies mentioned above and continue on with your own research journey on the web. Comments and inspirations are welcome!
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