[ 彩材拆拆 x UNWRAP CMF ]
Ch.33 Unwrapping CMF Design on Each Color’s Different Material Personality
Ch.33 拆招CMF設計談每個顏色也有不同材料個性？！

^{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 ✉️}

After nearly 4 years of services and hardship, my first AirPods has finally retired this week ??

Sat next to the brand new AirPods, the old set wasn’t much worse. Obviously, it had been dropped a couple times, plus scratches here and there from jangling with keys in the purse. However, the scratches are less noticeable on the surface of the white material of the AirPods casing. In contrast, the wear and tear of uncoated plastic is particularly obvious on the surface of another example of black external hard-drive.

People come with different shapes and curvatures, and each person has a style that best suits him or herself. Similarly, each color also comes with its own material “personality”!

From a technical point of view, we know that materials will behave differently due to factors such as material strength (e.g. composition ratio of plastic with PC, ABS, and glass fiber), surface treatment (e.g. polished or satin) and etc. But at the same time, it should be noted that even with the same material and manufacturing process, each color may result differently.

This says, for the best result, C (color) and MF (material and finishing) should not be considered separately:
⚠️ Some material processes are unavailable for specific colors, such as metal anodization and white.
⚠️ Some processes are unstable to produce specific color range, such as PVD and red/purple hues.
⚠️ Some colors may weaken the visual effect, such as that the color-changing quality of iridescent pearls are not as visible on vibrant base colors.

However, this does not mean that any material and process should be rejected due to the choice of color. Instead, at the concept creation phase, it is important to consider the suitability between the C and the MF: “Can we use another process instead of anodizing, or can we use light silver instead of white?”, “Can we propose another color that is stable for PVD process, or be ready to accept a wider range of limit board in production?”

This lesson also proves how manufacturing knowledge compliments the readiness of a design concept, and hence the importance for a qualified designer to always be in the look-out for building material and manufacturing knowledges as you go! ?

^{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 ✉️}

在各種老年症狀後，使用將近四年的AirPods終於功成身退??

退休之際，即使與全新的AirPods相比，舊耳機的白色外殼狀況也不算糟糕。雖然表面原有的拋光已受磨損，也有一些跌落或者被鑰匙等硬物刮花的痕跡，但襯托於白色的材質表面，這些刮痕都不算明顯。相比之下，同樣是未噴塗的塑膠材質，磨損在另一個黑色隨身硬碟上反而格外顯眼。

就像人有高矮及環肥燕瘦，每個人都有適合凸顯自身優勢的髮型和穿搭，相同道理，每個顏色也有不同的材料個性喔！

以技術層面而言，我們已知材質會因材料強度（比如塑膠的PC、ABS、玻纖的成份比例）、表面處理（比如拋光或磨砂）等因素而導致不同的表現。但同時需要注意的是，即使是一模一樣的材質與工藝，用不同顏色也可能帶來成果上的差異。

這說明，CMF中的C（色彩）及MF（材質與表面處理）並不應該被分開考量：
⚠️有些材質工藝不適用於特定顏色，比如金屬陽極噴砂和白色。
⚠️有些工藝對特定色系會製程不穩定，比如PVD真空鍍膜和紅紫色系。
⚠️有些顏色會減弱視覺效果，比如幻彩珠光在鮮豔的底色上較難凸顯珠光顆粒的變色效果。

然而，這不代表要因色彩而否決材質及工藝，而是在設計的階段，就應該開始考量C與MF的協調性：「是否可以用其他工藝代替金屬陽極，或以淺銀色替代白色的金屬提案？是否在提案階段就鎖定PVD色差值趨小的顏色方案，或提早考量紅紫色可能會導致的限度範圍擴大？」

這個課題也告訴我們，設計提案與工藝製程的相輔相成，時常積累製造經驗必定加分?