[ 彩材拆拆 x UNWRAP CMF ]
Ch29. Unwrapping CMF Design on Quality Assurance by Sticking to the Formula
Ch29. 拆招CMF設計談調色斤斤計較


CMF is a specialized area within industrial design that focuses on the development of products‘ color, material, and finish. Unwrap CMF shares bite-sized stories with digestible contents for anyone and everyone, inspiring curious minds about CMF Design. Enjoy learning? Use the mentioned terminologies to kick-start your research journey. Messages are always welcome! LinkedIn | Instagram | Email ✉️

For the midcentury house project that I was working on, some metal details needed to be restored to its original color. After browsing through the existing selection, I ended up mixing three colors from Dulux (a consumer-facing brand by AkzoNobel) to finally get my desired shade of warm red? (中文請見下方)

The repaint task was not finished at once which means I needed to remix the three colors to get the same shade again and again. Luckily, since I’ve worked with colors for so long and there wasn’t consumer-facing pressure, I was able to do it without having to write down a formula to follow through. This method is definitely UNACCEPTABLE for any top paint vendor. ??? ?? ?????

Think like this: when baking at home, it’s okay to go off the recipe by a few grams. With your most-confident dishes, you can even go off without having to measure anything at all!

But that is not the case for a nation-wide franchise serving thousands or millions of customers. There is no tolerance for any slightest change in the taste, quality, or food safety.

Same rules apply to paint. This is what happens throughout product development: first, CMF Designers review samples during color fine-tuning, once color and finishing are decided, the formula is recorded by the vendor, which will then be tested throughout trial production cycles. Minor adjustment may happen if the original formula doesn’t pass through.

After the formula is tested and fixed, going off even just by a milligram can mess up the color, which means lower yield rate in production and more money spent. Or worse – put quality to risk. Imagine if the paint starts to peel off in consumers’ hands. What a PR disaster that is going to be?! ?

No wonder why top paint brands can be somewhat pricier than local shops. The price you pay includes insurance to guarantee the quality and stability that your brand name stands for ??



CMF全稱為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。CMF學無止盡,善用CMF關鍵字繼續網上鑽研。討論交流請來信至 LinkedIn | Instagram | Email ✉️

這個夏天我一直在忙 老屋修復 ,其中一個任務是將鐵花窗的細節恢復原色。因為在目錄中沒有找到心儀的紅色,我最終挑了 得利油漆 的三款顏色再自己調和,最終順利調出我想要的暖紅?

整個鐵花窗油漆過程斷斷續續,這意味著我需要一次又一次重新調和油漆。好在因為長年與色彩打交道,也沒有面對消費者審視的壓力,所以我可以自在地調色而不需要小心紀錄比例。不過… 任何頂級的塗料公司都不可能接受這種調色模式。????

舉個例子,在家烘焙時,如果不小心比食譜多了一兩克其實也不會把廚房炸掉。甚至有些拿手料理,完全不看食譜、不用測量配方,就可以輕輕鬆鬆佳餚上桌。

但是,如果今天面對的不是親朋好友,而是數十百萬消費者的時候,情況就不是這樣了。對連鎖的食品品牌來說,任何口味、品質、或食品安全的細微變化均不能被容忍。

油漆產業也是相同的規則。產品開發過程是這樣的:首先,CMF 設計師會在調色時審閱樣品,一旦確定滿意的顏色和表面效果之後,塗料供應商就會將這個顏色的配方紀錄存擋。這個配方將一次又一次地在試產週期中進行測試,如果原始配方沒有通過測試就會一直微調,直到CMF和測試標準雙雙達標為止。

油漆配方經測試穩定後,稍稍有一點點的出入,也可能生出不同的成品顏色,這代表生產 良率 變低,導致生產耗材成本增加。甚至更糟——亂調比例也可能將品質置於風險之中。光是想像油漆如果在消費者手中開始剝落,這會是怎樣的公關災難?!?

這就是為什麼知名塗料公司的價格會比小廠貴一些,這些價差來自於塗料公司的投入,也是對品質穩定性的保證,畢竟品牌形象才是無價??

隨性比例的油漆調和? 實際生產絕對NO-NO!
Mixing paint without writing down the formula? Big NO-NO in real production development!
為求穩定的成果,即便是家居塗料,每個顏色都有各自固定的配方。
Even for home interior paint, each color in the selection has its own formula for a stable result.
架上陳列的色卡全部都有各自固定的配方。
Every color card on the shelf has its own fixed formula.
挑好家居油漆的顏色後,會由電腦精準調和油漆配方中的每個顏色比例。
After the color is selected, the paint is carefully and accurately mixed by computer.

Problem-solving CMF Fixer. Formerly manages the CMF Design team at Motorola, and currently a New York-based and world-traveling Design Consultant with specialty in CMF Design since 2011. 高雄囡仔,前世帶領摩托羅拉CMF設計團隊,今生定居於紐約並遊牧世界,任自由撰稿人兼CMF設計顧問,持續投入在CMF設計的科普推廣,並為提供CMF專案支持或諮詢服務。
Back to top