Creating a good first impression is always important, and this is especially true when it comes to product design goals. The exterior of any product, including the color, texture and graphics, is known as CMF (Color Material Finish). CMF plays a significant role in the user experience as well as a product’s overall impression to stakeholders during the product design process. The way a product looks, feels, and even smells, plays a large role in how likely customers are to buy it, and how it is perceived by stakeholders.
The Importance of a CMF Strategy CMF design should be an integral part of the entire design process from the early design stages. Many designers unfortunately spend most of their time on the functionality and shape aspects of the design and leave CMF as an extra, or rather an afterthought. A high quality design cannot be achieved without thinking about CMF at the beginning of the
process and investing similar efforts as those invested in the product’s geometrical design. The shape and the CMF impact each other and are equally important for a successful design. In other words, the geometry should be tweaked during the design process to fit with the CMF and not only the other way around.