Ch3. Unwrapping CMF Design on Effective Persuasion via Building a Common Goal

In last chapter, we talked about how a product is the result of cross-functional collaboration. Because each team holds different perspective, if designers cannot put a persuasive argument on the table, design details can often be sacrificed in the battle — especially in a company where design team is less valued. (中文版)

That being said, it is Lunar New Year! Let’s try to think positively 🌞

CMF is a specific discipline within industrial design that focuses on the development of a product’s color, material, and finish. Unwrap CMF shares bite-sized stories of CMF Design to inform and inspire those interested in this niche yet fascinating field, with digestible contents for anyone and everyone.

If you can establish a common goal, it can be a less bumpy road for negotiation.

Take low-end keypad phone as an example: as the second generation, though there was some spec upgrade, we were left with little budget for else.

In order to save the expensive cost of tooling, the first common goal of the team was formed: “How to cost-effectively differentiate the look and feel of the product?”

Driven by the common goal, the design proposal of color-matched keypad was successfully included for further evaluation.

What followed was the concern raised by the Quality Control colleague: if the color-matched keypad is used on white SKU, will the white keypad be unreadable when backlit?

To optimize User Experience, the team’s second common goal was formed: “How to enhance readability while keeping the color-matched keypad proposal?”.

Quickly, ID Designer fine-tuned font width, CMF Designer proposed tinted TPU solution, Product Manager pulled in suppliers for sample-making, and engineers worked together to conduct requires testings.

Everyone still holds different perspectives like always, but because of our common goal, the team has established a mutual understanding to drive forward.

Even for a newbie CMF Designer who has just joined the company, can rely on the effort of common goal to bring out design intent 😉

Now that’s some positive thoughts for a new year! I wish all of you a Happy Lunar Niu (🐮) Year, with powers to driving magical changes!

Improve color contrast and readability via tinted layer.

The making of TPU requires baking which makes white material turn yellow, causing an unavoidable color gap with plastic parts.

While tooling remained unmodified, changes in CMF details becomes a cost-effective solution to add a new SKU.

Enjoy learning? Use the CMF terminologies mentioned above and continue on with your own research journey on the web. Comments and inspirations are welcome!
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