Ciba Inc.
Klybeckstrasse 141, P.O. Box
Basel
4002
Switzerland
Tel.: +41 61 636 49 16
Fax.:
+41 61 636 25 59
The Future is White
By Dr. Michael Golek, BASF Coatings
Page 1 | Page 2
The ‘white’ stuff is catching up with other leading colors in the automotive sector, according to experts at BASF
It may come as a shock to automotive fans out there - but after the hugely popular silver and modest but bold black, white could potentially be the third most significant color on the global automotive market, according to BASF Coatings’ color stylists Michaela Finkenzeller, Sandra Mathia (North America) and Eiji Fujimori (Asia-Pacific) at the presentation of their traditional annual color trend forecast.
The two experts announced a range of white shades which promise to ‘stop traffic’ on the roads. Teams in the design centres and labs of BASF Coatings are working on solid-color and metallic paints, as well as special colors like white with soft mica effects, white with extreme sparkle or white in variants with graduated hues such as cream colors and silver-white.
Variations on white at the Detroit Auto Show 2008
White is classy and likely to be a trendsetter, for instance, in additional layers of clearcoat containing a light gold shimmer or as an exclusive matte white.
What makes this all possible is new pigments and manufacturing processes that are making heads turn when it comes to surface texture, haptics and effects.
According to the forecast, white will not only be making its mark in the exclusive and premium vehicle category but will be setting the stage for small- and medium-size cars in the long-term as well.
A combination of matte and high-gloss effects in the area of white is particularly sophisticated. What counts are subtle differences and a passion for detail and this applies to color, surfaces and haptics as well.
‘The interplay between a white exterior and a co-ordinated interior is particularly eye-catching’, says Finkenzeller. ‘White is actually a very distinctive color. In the automotive sector in particular, it stands out from the crowd.’
The Color Of Purity
The color white, 20 years ago, had a 20% share of the market on German and European roads. In Germany, this share has fallen to two to three percent.
In Southern Europe, however, the figure is currently much higher. In Italy, for example, one out of three cars leaving the dealerships is white. In general, the farther south you go, the lighter the color of the cars on the road.
In Japan, white is considered to be the color of purity and clarity. Some 27% of all car buyers there go for white. When it comes to sports cars, it is practically de rigueur.
BASF Coatings’ color stylists and researchers have been observing a manifestation of the white trend for about two years. It’s not just hype or a short-term trend but rather a metatrend that is making its way through all areas of design and everyday culture.
Fashion, furniture and consumer electronics are all pioneers in the white revolution. One of the best-known examples is the iPod.
|  |
|  |
iPod aesthetic at the Geneva Auto Show 2007
‘From the point of view of society, the new trend towards white is rooted in the search for new values’, adds Finkenzeller.
Silver, the metatrend of the last decade, represented this kind of value but generally stood for infatuation with technology, belief in the future and inviolability.
While the high-tech trend was ground-breaking, it was not a panacea. ‘We’re searching for new approaches, new solutions and new values’, says Finkenzeller. This search is being expressed by designers’ color collections and the end consumers’ predilections for certain colors. White stands for a focus on the essential, ‘a new aesthetic purism’, as BASF color stylist Finkenzeller puts it.
Yet white is also something special and exclusive. ‘White that is worth loving and taking care of, as opposed to low-maintenance silver is another way to describe it’, adds Finkenzeller. ‘It’s a matter of emotions versus uniformity and pure functionality.’
Page 1 | Page 2
