DEARBORN: In celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day and in line with Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year, Greenery, Ford introduces its new Outrageous Green Metallic tinted colour for the 2018 Focus Electric.
For Ford’s colour and materials design team, inspiration is everywhere. Thinking about the visual and tactile elements that will help define future vehicles, Barb Whalen, Ford colour and materials design manager, and her team tap into everyday experiences to predict future trends to deliver a vibrant and diverse pallet for customers.
“Designers are encouraged to experience a feeling, bring it to the team, then collectively brainstorm ways to bring it to life through a paint colour or material for Ford vehicles,” says Whalen. “Outrageous Green Metallic is a unique shade, symbolizing modern renewal and a reconnection with nature, then finished with a special tinted clear coat to give the colour depth and vibrancy.”
Challenged to think about the “why,” the Ford colour and materials team works to answer why a particular colour is important, why now, and why this colour as opposed to another. Many colours seen today were inspired from beautiful places in nature, with trends often predicted two to three years into the future.
These trends can be influenced by everything from changing lifestyles, psychological and societal emotions, to consumer hobbies and passionate interests.
Unusual sports gear, ropes, anodized finishes, plastics gear and accent fabrics provide inspiration for Ford vehicle exteriors and interiors. The social and political environment and conversations about material ethics (biomaterials) also influence forecasting trends and help to predict the colour and material choices Ford makes for tomorrow.
Ford has a legacy of “going green” with its paint colors, offering Highland Green, Squeeze Green, Ultimate Green, Gotta Have It Green and now Outrageous Green Metallic.
