Lefteri

It’s obvious that these qualities are partly determined by various sensorial qualities. Weight, for instance, may be associated with a material like metal, which is perceived as “natural” as opposed to “artificial” plastic. Or transparency -- think of perfume packaging or water bottles and what they would look like if they were made from misty polypropylene rather than the crystalline transparency of PET. Perhaps it is a coating that brings to mind precious metals, with iridescent vibrancy and luxurious seduction.

If someone were to identify the luxury materials what would they be? One thing is for certain, the surface of a product is the first point of reference in the all-important image of a product, whether this is when someone picks up and touches the real thing at an in-store display or sees it printed in a magazine or online. This visual benchmark plays on sensory understanding and communicates an object’s qualities.

Surfaces have always been the primary method of communication in design. Surfaces provide an opportunity to create a personality, new experiences and scenarios. They can inject some drama and flair into everyday life, open a door to the past, or create an illusion that gradually changes into something else.

Surfaces are also about messages -- of contrasts, discovery, interaction and unexpected turns that have an impact on all the senses. A surface is a projection screen for emotions and in past editions of this feature I have presented projects from the plastics industry that understand the value of communicating properties on a level that is relevant to this type of thinking.

The design industry is one that needs to be targeted by plastics producers in order to build sales and brand recognition, like Santoprene does at www.materialexperience.com and Eastman at www.eastmaninnovationlab.com.

Another example is Ciba Chemicals, which has built an entire project (www.xymara.com) based on the communication of surfaces for designers. Ciba deals in the surface as a commodity, as a strategy to communicate brands and build associations often with products that make associations of luxury. Ciba is fairly unique in that it is one of the only companies to present this information on finishes.

Amongst the reviews of design events and other design resources, there is the Effect Explorer that provides an innovative feature that offers the ability to test and visualise various effects within the Colour Trend Vision program. This is a design and technology resource developed to provide designers, converters, and producers of paint, ink and masterbatches with global and regional color trend forecasts and information such as design tools for coatings, inks and plastics applications.

Amongst Ciba’s products are a range of sparkling effects called Nordic. Think of ice crystals and you will get a feeling for this family of sparkling finishes. These can be combined with transparent colored pigments to give bright, pop-art effects or to produce silky deep shade effects.

Another effect is the Metasheen range of pigments, a vacuum-metalized pigment that offers a range of brilliant metallic effects. These range from dark chrome and silver to strong vibrant golds, each with a soft pearlized sheen.

Metasheen can be used as a paint additive and also as a masterbatch for a variety of applications -- from automotive, such as the exterior for the Jaguar C-XF and Volvo XC60 exterior metallic effects, to cosmetic packaging. Applications for the Nordic range include thin film packaging to printing inks and as a masterbatch.

These effects can be used to enhance the finish of a molded product through either a masterbatch or as a spray.

Chris Lefteri, product designer and principal of Chris Lefteri Design Ltd. in Barnet, England, is internationally recognized as an authority on materials and their application in design, with eight books on the subject to his credit. Lefteri can be reached through his Web site at ChrisLefteri.com/.