Artistic Symphony of Color and Material: A Dialogue with BAIC’s CMF Designer Lin Lvjun
It not only concerns the aesthetic presentation of vehicles,
but also embodies a perfect integration of technology and art.
Perhaps you are somewhat unfamiliar with CMF design.
CMF is the abbreviation of Color, Material, and Finishing.
The surface of all externally visible components of a vehicle falls within the scope of CMF design.
CMF design is an indispensable part of automotive design.
Combining creativity with technology, CMF designers endow cold steels with color and warmth.Recently, we had the honor to interview Lin Lvjun, the Color and Material Design Manager of BAIC’s Degisn Division.
In 2023, by relying on excellent color designs, she led her team to win numerous honors, including the Best Color Award of the International CMF Design, the Pioneer Color Design Award of Sohu Boundless Aesthetics, and the Automotive Color and Material Innovation Center of China Fashion Color Association. She unveiled the mystery behind CMF design.
CMF Design: Artistic Process with Industrial Hues
CMF is not simply about color matching.
Instead, it involves the overall process of artistic creation,
ranging from the formulation of color plans to material selection and texture design.
The design process of CMF is complicated and meticulous, requiring designers to possess not only unbounded creativity but also the ability to transform imagination into reality. From the production of simulated vehicles to the spray test of exterior paint on actual vehicles, every step must be rigorously managed.
CMF design is a job imbued with enchanting powers
“We will first establish a creative concept, then conveys the concept with drawings and materials, and then proceed to make models. Materials and colors must always be perceived together. It is unreasonable to talk about colors without considering materials or to talk about materials without considering colors,” said Lin Lvjun. After the application of the color and material program to the model, repeated comparisons will become a crucial step.
CMF designers need to guarantee the perfect presentation of colors under different materials and lights through countless adjustments and experiments. This process not only relies on data support, but also depends on designers’ keen visual judgment and rich experience.
“Just as there are no two identical leaves in the world, colors produced by the same supplier in different days will exhibit slight differences. We need to confirm this variability from time to time. From start to finish, we will typically try several hundred color swatches, from flat ones to curved ones, from small color patches to full-scale vehicle simulations, until the brightness, saturation, and shimmer all meet our expectations, and then we will start the mass production.”
“CMF design is a job imbued with enchanting powers,” said Lin Lvjun,
“A vehicle with no color or material applied may reveal no distinct style,
but once applied with color, it will take on a completely new look.
For instance, in the case of BJ30 to be listed, due to its fashionable square box, we chose a plain color that exuded a strong sense of fashionable product, rather than a metallic shade with sparkling particles, to highlight the unique shape of the square box.” Apart from the exterior paint color, there are hundreds of visible components on the exterior of a car. Considering different performances and different base materials, they will be processed in different ways. Moreover, the materials involved range extensively from paint and imitation leather to genuine leather, plastics, real wood, and films, making the design process more complicated and systematic.
CMF Design Is an Microcosm of Social Changes.
Both popular trends and the evolution of colors
are determined by the state of the overall society.
Reviewing the development process of automotive colors,
Lin Lvjun was filled with mixed emotions. Ten years ago,
cars were generally regarded as fixed assets, and consumers
placed greater importance on durability than on the color.
Therefore, basic hues such as black, white, gray, and silver
were extensively chosen as exterior paint colors for vehicles.
“However, with the rapid development of electric vehicles nowadays, someone says that buying a car is akin to buying a mobile phone. Although the economy may fluctuate with the pandemic, our material conditions are gradually improving on the whole. As Maslow's hierarchy of needs suggests, once the basic physiological needs of a person are met, he will pursue needs at higher levels, such as individualized emotional needs. The emotional needs are reflected in consumers' selection of vehicle colors and materials.”
Mentioning the relations between CMF design and society, Lin Lvjun said with a smile, “I remember that 12 years ago, when new energy vehicles were in their infancy, people considered it necessary to use blue as an iconic color to distinguish electric vehicles from ordinary gasoline-powered ones. In 2012 and 2013, electric vehicles represented by BMW and Toyota all adopted this strategy, leading to similar designs being adopted by other models in the industry. Even today, when we examine the basic data, we will find that despite the various changes in the blue paint, the blue hue remains the predominant base color.”
“However, after the outbreak of the pandemic, the sales of vehicles painted green began to increase. It is because people yearned for the the embrace of nature outdoors under the restricted living conditions of the special period. Even when the pandemic has passed now, the anxiety and tension it brought still persist. Therefore, in 2023, our team discussed it, and predicted that green hues will continue to be popular for some time.”
It is because the society and consumers still attempt to escape from anxiety and unease, and yearn strongly for warmth. As warm hues can bring hope and a healing force to people, green hues with a warm touch will probably become a mainstream trend. Recently, publications from professional forecasting agencies in the industry have verified our forecast.”
Strong Correlation between Automotive Aesthetics and Technological Progress
Someone says that fashion follows a cycle that repeats every ten years,
but it is not the case with CMF.
“In my opinion, it is an evolution, rather than a repetition. Sometimes, the fashion industry embraces retro styles because clothing, to a large extent, serves as a form of decoration, with no functions other than protecting the body. However, with the emergence of new technological values, automobiles will undergo an evolutionary development in aesthetics.”
Lin Lvjun took the aesthetic evolution in interior design as an example, saying, “Ten years ago, vehicles with light-colored interiors were unpopular among consumers, primarily due to their bad practicality and susceptibility to dirt. Even if our design team believed that light colors were sophisticated and could enhance the product quality, they would still be rejected due to bad market feedback stemming from their dirt-prone nature.
However, through technological upgrading, our light-colored interiors have a stain-resistant function now.For instance, the Spring River Blue color scheme in the interior of BJ60, matched with large areas of light colors, is good in both texture and practicality, thus receiving good market feedback.”
As a bridge connecting physical form with emotional experience, CMF design holds a profound significance beyond mere visual aesthetics. Amid the intertwining of rationality and sensibility, it has precisely captured the changes in demand, and injected new vitality into automotive design through an ingenious application of colors and materials. Therefore, automobiles are no longer merely travel tools on the roads; they are actually artworks in quick motion, telling stories about the era.
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