CMF - colour, materials and finish - is at the heart of our design offering. High quality CMF can be the difference between good and great product design. Anything you see and feel on a product should have the touch of a CMF designer. A good CMF strategy will consider every surface and element in fine detail, how they reflect the brand’s values and meet its consumers’ needs.

CMF is about using the aesthetics of a product to create an emotional response, which can enhance the user’s experience of a brand. CMF transcends the final production design. We use CMF to help inspire the design at its inception, it reaches every part of a project and is knitted into the entire development process.  As a design is developed, CMF works in parallel, whether it be researching materials and colours, creating a palette either digitally or as a physical collection to show depth of pattern, texture or colour. Being interwoven into the design process means we can advise where and when CMF design is needed and can add value.

CMF can act as an effective intermediary between design and engineering. We ground ourselves in knowledge of materials and colour which means we are able to specify materials that are fit for purpose. We make sure we know what we’re delivering for, the product’s life span, for example, how and where it’s going to be used. This rigour is what makes CMF at DCA so special.

We don’t just own a static materials library gathering dust in a corner that clients are whizzed past on an obligatory studio tour. And it’s not a few samples hidden away in a designer’s drawer either, DCA has everything it needs to create a CMF strategy in-house. Our materials library is a dynamic one, a vital resource that the CMF team are constantly evolving.

CMF design is a vital tool when it comes to brand strategy. It can elevate the perception of brands into something more premium or appropriate for a particular audience.

We are currently working on multiple projects in very diverse sectors, from medical devices to transport interiors. DCA is a full-service product design agency, we have all the disciplines needed to bring high-quality new products to market, from the technical knowhow and brand strategy to the creative front end. CMF is crucial to delivering this.