CCS Color and Materials Design

Huge thank you to Nancy Lockhart from Viavi Solutions, and adjunct faculty, Kelly Slank, for such an insightful color trend presentation! Your expertise brought real-time knowledge about industry trends straight to our students. We appreciate your commitment to enriching our learning environment and empowering the next generation of designers! Kelly Slank VIAVI Solutions #cmfdesign #colortrends #industryinsights #imaginationspace #ccsdetroit

✨ Congratulations to Gigi Lin, CCS MFA Color Material Design '22 alumna, on launching her first project as Lead CMF Designer with LYNK & CO! Gigi has beautifully brought her vision to life, "carefully crafted to create a really unique, bold, and dynamic experience," blending innovative color, material, and finish design with a forward-thinking automotive aesthetic. This project, launched in Milan, is a testament to her hard work, creativity, and dedication to redefining what's possible in automotive design. Swipe to explore the details, and follow @pignose.cmf to stay updated on her inspiring journey! #CongratsGigi #LYNKCO #CMFDesign #CCSAlumni #AutomotiveDesign #InnovationInDesign #ColorMaterialFinish #DesignInspiration #MilanDesign #ProudMoment #CreativeVision #FutureOfMobility #WomenInDesign #DesignerSpotlight #AutomotiveInnovation

Applications for Fall 2025 Color and Materials Design program at CCS are open: Priority Deadline is January 15th! About the Program The Color and Materials Design program at CCS is the only accredited graduate-level CMF program worldwide, attracting designers globally from the fields of product, transportation, fashion, interior, user experience, textile, and animation design, as well as fine art, crafts, architecture, engineering, and the natural and social sciences. The program curriculum prepares students to cultivate a mindset where forward-thinking color, material, and finish strategies are framed to connect functional and emotional meaning to products, environments, and experiences — with the understanding of user needs and preferences — across a wide range of industries. The Color and Materials Design graduate program is STEM-designated — offering extended visa opportunities for international students — and prepares graduates for careers in Color, Material, and Finish (CMF) Design, Color Design, Color Development, Color Marketing, Color Mastering, Material Design, Material Development, Surface Design, and Trend Forecasting. To apply, click on this link - https://lnkd.in/gDK-nmdR Still have questions? Book a chat with the Chair, scan QR Code now! #cmf #cmd #cmfdesign #colorandtrim #colorandtrim #colorandtrimdesigner #detroit #color #colortrend #design #designer #MFA

MFA Color and Material Design '25 student Laura Lin, with a background in industrial design, is exploring the potential of how AI and emerging technologies can enhance the CMF designer's workflow during her internship personal project at Nissan Motor Corporation this summer. Based on the 2050 Nissan Ariya, this project explores the integration of various AI tools into areas of the automotive industry through mood boards, exterior textures, interior textiles, digital patterns, and motion visualization. The detailed exploration process highlights the potential for future CMF designers to push the boundaries of technology and craftsmanship by weaving AI capabilities into every stage of design. Interested in knowing more about her research and process? Find her portfolio on her IG page @alc_7 or reach out to her Laura Lin Nissan Motor Corporation Laura Lin

Thank you for the amazing community engagement and collaboration! https://lnkd.in/evfbeZGB #ccsdetroit #ccs_practicingdesigncenter #ccs_cmd #ccs_colorandmaterialsdesign #ccs_interiordesign #classagency

Student Showcase - Interior Design & CMF DESIGN presented their C.L.A.S.S. agency project at Gensler during the Detroit Month of Design The C.L.A.S.S. Project - Transformative Connection with Space and Matter. This pop-up exhibition featured design work from students at the College for Creative Studies, including Undergraduate Interior Design and Graduate Studies in Color & Materials Design. Students collaborated with C.L.A.S.S. Agency on a project aimed at enhancing systems, environments, and lifestyles of stakeholders through restoration, revitalization, and renewal. The exhibition will showcase concepts created to reimagine the interior of a new building for C.L.A.S.S. The collaboration between CCS and C.L.A.S.S was supported by the new CCS Practicing Design Center—a dynamic hub where partner organizations receive top-tier design support, CCS students gain immersive, hands-on skills, and the community benefits from enhanced collaboration. @ccs_detroit @ccs_interiordesign @class_agency @designcoredet @genslerdetroit #ccsdetroit #ccsalumni #classagency #cmfdesign #colorandmaterialsdesign #colorandtrim #trendforecasting #ccsinteriordesign #practicingdesigncenter #genslerdetroit #detroitmonthofdesign #designcore

Last week Color and Materials Design '23 alum, Merek Alam, now Lead Color Designer at Avient Corporation, returned to CCS @ccs_detroit, to share their expertise in color trend forecasting through ColorForward™ 2025. These colors are "paired with the latest effects, resins, and additives to create a well-rounded, inspiring Color, Material, Finish (CMF) forecast." (Avient) This presentation was part of the Applied Materials and Processes course, led by Automotive Color Expert Cari Coffer, to increase students' experiential knowledge of industry standards regarding engineered materials, manufacturing processes, and relevant applications through a series of local and regional field trips, guest lectures, workshops, in-studio prototyping, and self-led projects. Thank you to Merek for an amazing presentation! #ccsdetroit #ccsalumni #cmfdesign #trendforecasting #future of color #futurecolor

We have launched the '24-25 year for our CMF graduate students! A huge welcome to the incoming MA and MFA Color & Material Design class. Every year we have a new dynamic of disciplines, and we're excited to see how this cohort will bring their multidisciplinary expertise to shape the future of CMF. About the Program: The Color and Materials Design program at CCS is the only accredited graduate-level CMF program worldwide, attracting designers globally from the fields of product, transportation, fashion, interior, user experience, textile, and animation design, as well as fine art, crafts, architecture, engineering, and the natural and social sciences. The Color and Materials Design graduate program is STEM-designated — offering extended visa opportunities for international students through Curricular Practice Training (CPT) & Optional Practise Training (OPT) #cmf #cmd #cmfdesign #colorandtrim #ccsdetroit #MFA #MA #ccsdetroit

Congratulations to ‘24 MA Color and Materials Design graduate, Victor Smith, on his Footwear Color Designer II position @ Nike! The College for Creative Studies Color and Materials Design graduate program prepares graduates for careers in Color, Material, and Finish (CMF) Design, Color Design, Color Development, Color Marketing, Color Mastering, Material Design, Material Development, Surface Design, and Trend Forecasting. Photo credit: Travis Gooch #cmf #cmfdesign #colorandtrim #colordesign #materialdevelopment #colormastering #cmfgraphics #trendforecasting #trendfuturing #surfacedesign #maprograms #mfa #mfaprograms #ccsdetroitt

MA Color and Material Design '24 graduate, Vivyan Zhang, with a background in integrated design, textiles, and (un)fashion, explores the complexity of black in her MA Final Project, "Sacred Black." "Our obsession with fossil fuels has propelled rapid innovation at the cost of global socio-political and environmental crises. The complexities of our relationship to fossil fuels is mirrored in the black color of its materiality: coal, petrol, exhaust. It has survived the passage of time. Vilified as evil then exalted into puritan ideology during the European Middle Ages; it is eternalized in the ink of sacred scripture, and the mythological power that has inspired humans to explore space. As a pigment, it requires 1.5 tons of fossil fuel raw materials to produce 1 ton of carbon black with 2.5-3 tons of CO2 emissions released per ton of recovered carbon black. Its symbolic weight cannot be measured to its physical one, but perhaps holds an opportunity to drive deeper engagement with our climate crises at the intersection of environment and spirituality." Vivyan Zhang is a CMF Designer Nissan Motor Corporation. #ccsdetroit #ccs #ccsalumni #cmf #cmfdesign #colorandtrim #materialdrivendesign #leatherfutures #trendforecasting #texture #surfacedesign #graduatestudies #mfa