Introduction to CMF Design: Color, Material, and Finish
A course by Laura PerrymanCMF Design Consultant
A course by Laura Perryman, CMF Design Consultant
Learn to create successful product design projects by combining all your senses and bringing them to life in InDesign and Illustrator
Color relates to human emotion and sensory perception, which is why it is essential for product design. Laura Perryman, the founder of Colour of Saying, specializes in combining harmonious color palettes with sustainable materials. With clients like Nokia and Vivo footwear, she curates her CMF designs based on user-centered trends, mood, and visual storytelling.
In this course, Laura takes you through the world of CMF to create a sensory experience through your product design ideas. Learn to combine custom color palettes with textures, and bring your ideas to life with a finalized product visualization.
What will you learn in this online course?
16 lessons & 25 downloads
CMF Design
11 minutes, 23 seconds
Tools and Software
2 minutes, 46 seconds
Colour
11 minutes, 45 seconds
Materials and Finishes
9 minutes, 19 seconds
Consumer Profile, Behaviour and Changes
14 minutes, 37 seconds
Trend Forecasting
14 minutes, 58 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start the course by getting to know Laura, the founder of Colour of Saying. She shares her professional and creative journey, and talks about how her passion for color, design trends, and sustainable materials have influenced her work.
Get an overview of CMF design, its processes and how it applies to product design. Discover the tools and software needed for the course, and get tips on where to find materials. Delve into the world of color by exploring color theory and how to build an appealing palette. Laura goes in-depth about the different types of materials and finishes, their function, and how they convey mood and emotion.
Learn how to take a user-centered approach to CMF by researching target customer profiles and their consumer trends. Laura then discusses trend forecasting and how trends shape our products. With your research done, create a strong visual theme and CMF palette. Then, select the materials and finishes for two design ideas with different moods.
Time to move your project to InDesign to create a mood board with a visual theme and a clear presentation. Laura teaches you how to refine your materials and textures ready to be applied to a visualization of the final product. Move on to Illustrator and learn how to create an illustration of the product with your CMF.
Wrap up the course by hearing the best practices when professionally presenting your work in the product design industry. Laura also shares a variety of industry tips, what comes next if a CMF proposal is approved, and how to prototype it.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create a CMF mood board for a product design proposal.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is ideal for designers, artists, or anyone interested in CMF for product design.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is necessary, just a curious eye for colors and material.
To take this course, you need to source a materials like fabric, metal, plastic, and others, which Laura guides you through the process in the second unit. You will also need a camera to capture physical colors and textures, as well as access to Adobe InDesign and Illustrator, or similar software, for the final presentation.
Reviews
- 1 year ago
Great introduction to CMF
- 1 year ago
Great introduction to CMF
- 1 year ago
corso molto interessante, come introduzione al cmf design super approvato
- 1 year ago
Great introduction to CMF, and practical tasks are a great deal of fun! Love the inclusion of industry standard software, and maybe a more advanced sequel to the course with 3D material renders would be a cool addition.
- 1 year ago
Great course for beggining the journey of CMF
Since then, she has gone on to curate CMF palettes for the tech, home, footwear, and interior design industries for clients like Nolii, Vivo footwear, Graphenstone, Panasonic, and Sky. She is also the author of The Colour Bible. She is currently on the board of trustees for The Colour in Design Awards, a non-profit organization for design graduates.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
About CMF Design
- CMF Design
- Tools and Software
- Colour
- Materials and Finishes
- U3
Preparing for the CMF Design Brief
- Consumer Profile, Behaviour and Changes
- Trend Forecasting
- Selecting a Colour CMF Palette
- Selecting Materials and Finishes
- U4
Final Digital Presentation
- Gathering Digitised Mood Board
- Material and Finishes
- Applying Finishes to Headphones
- Finishing the Presentation
- U5
Best Practice for Presentation
- Best Practice for Presentation
- Industry Tips
- FP
Final project
- Introduction to CMF Design: Color, Material, and Finish
What to expect from a Domestika course
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FAQs
CMF stands for Color, Material, and Finish. It is essential in product design as it shapes the product’s look, feel, and user experience, impacting emotional appeal, functionality, and market relevance.
This CMF course is designed for intermediate learners. Some foundational knowledge in design or related fields is recommended for the best learning experience.
You'll learn how to create CMF palettes, build mood boards, forecast trends, select sustainable materials, conduct user research for product design, and use tools like InDesign and Illustrator for digital visualization.
Access to Adobe InDesign and Illustrator is recommended, as the course covers digital mood boards and CMF application using these tools. A camera or smartphone for collecting material references is also useful.
User research helps tailor color, material, and finish choices to specific consumer profiles and product contexts, ensuring designs meet user needs and market preferences.
You'll learn to mix custom color palettes, create monochromatic, analogous, and complementary palettes, and develop both physical and digital mood boards to communicate design direction.
Yes, the course explores sustainable material selection, including recycled plastics and biological dyes, and material innovation for responsible product design.