Introduction to CMF Design: Color, Material, and Finish
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
- 98% positive reviews (41)
- 2,480 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 · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software & tools for this course
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesignWhat 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
Laura Perryman
A course by Laura Perryman
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
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
About CMF Design
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CMF Design
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Tools and Software
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Colour
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Materials and Finishes
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U3
Preparing for the CMF Design Brief
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Consumer Profile, Behaviour and Changes
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Trend Forecasting
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Selecting a Colour CMF Palette
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Selecting Materials and Finishes
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U4
Final Digital Presentation
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Gathering Digitised Mood Board
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Material and Finishes
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Applying Finishes to Headphones
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Finishing the Presentation
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U5
Best Practice for Presentation
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Best Practice for Presentation
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Industry Tips
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FP
Final project
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Introduction to CMF Design: Color, Material, and Finish
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
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Watch professionally produced courses
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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.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Great introduction to CMF
Great introduction to CMF
corso molto interessante, come introduzione al cmf design super approvato
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.
Great course for beggining the journey of CMF