Introduction to CMF Design: Color, Material, and Finish

A course by Laura Perryman
CMF Design Consultant. London, United Kingdom.
Joined June 2021
, CMF Design Consultant

Learn to create successful product design projects by combining all your senses and bringing them to life in InDesign and Illustrator

  • 100% positive reviews (25)
  • 1156 students
  • Audio: English
  • English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch

Learn to create successful product design projects by combining all your senses and bringing them to life in InDesign and Illustrator

  • 100% positive reviews (25)
  • 1156 students
  • 16 lessons (2h 49m)
  • 25 additional resources (6 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever


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?

Course table of contents

  • U1
    U1. Introduction
  • U2
    U2. About CMF Design
  • U3
    U3. Preparing for the CMF Design Brief
  • U4
    U4. Final Digital Presentation
  • U5
    U5. Best Practice for Presentation
  • FP
    FP Final project
View details

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.

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

1156 Students
25 Reviews
100% Positive ratings
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Laura Perryman

A course by Laura Perryman

Teacher Plus
CMF Design Consultant

Laura Perryman is the founder and creative director of Colour of Saying, a design studio dedicated to color and materials in experiential design. She studied textile design at the Royal College of Art in London in 2007, and has worked in the CMF industry since. In 2008, she was a senior designer in the color and material concept department for Nokia for two years. A few years later, she was the CMF lead designer at Arrival, an electric vehicle technology company.

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

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Introduction to CMF Design: Color, Material, and Finish. Design course by Laura Perryman

Introduction to CMF Design: Color, Material, and Finish

A course by Laura Perryman
CMF Design Consultant. London, United Kingdom.
Joined June 2021
  • 100% positive reviews (25)
  • 1156 students