The Design Shanghai CMF Conference 2025, themed "Feeling of Touch," will explore the emotional and tactile dimensions of CMF design through expert insights and four curated themes on "Touch My Heart," "Touch the Time," "Touch the Material," and "Touch the Technology." Complementing the conference, the CMF Training Workshops, led by renowned designer Chris Lefteri, offer hands-on learning at both introductory and advanced levels, empowering participants to harness material-led innovation and craft exceptional design solutions.
Purchase Tickets for CMF Conference
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Drawing from Min Wei's encounters with colors during her global travels and architectural practice, this speech reveals how colors impact psychology, cultural symbolism, and artistic creation, and ultimately shapes rich and multidimensional spatial experiences.
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From the interplay of reality and virtuality to the connection between data and emotion, CMF applications are never a one-size-fits-all solution but rather a realm of dynamic, multidimensional possibilities. Sony's Creative Center keep exploring how flexible and creative interactive methods can inspire designers to extract insights from abstract and intuitive CMF trends and translate them into practical solutions for diverse work scenarios.
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1.Bespoke storytelling: How collaborative design with Kim Jones brings couture-level detail to 0Edition.
2.Emotional CMF strategy: Using color, material, and finish to shape the atmosphere of SVP Royal Theater.
3.Design with soul: Crafting mobility experiences that feel personal, tactile, and truly unforgettable.
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We will draw inspiration from art to stir deep emotional connections. Using the most unexpected materials, we aim to create an unparalleled tactile experience through innovative techniques and design, bringing vibrant, youthful CMF designs that resonate with people.
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I would like to talk about acrylic products and acrylic selection, starting with the reason why I am interested in industrial materials.
1. Simple designs bring out the power of the material itself.
2. Standard items that do not follow trends are sustainable.
3. Bags and accessories that can be used as communication tools.
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Colour trends have adapted to the evolving consumer behaviors, cultural movements and market dynamics, with sustainability, individuality, and technology at the forefront. These shifts reflect a growi ...
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1. The Application of Lighting Techniques from Jiangnan VernacularArchitecture in Modern Design
2. The Transformation of Spatial Principles in Jiangnan Vernacular Architecture into Contemporary Design Paradigms
3. Integration and Reflection: The Living Patterns of Jiangnan Vernacular Architecture in Modern Design Context
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Our memories are shaped by history, with colors, textures and touch bringing them vividly to life, making CMF more emotionally impactful. The enduring value of past memories lies in the human emotions they evoke. We will dive into the rich history of urban and automotive design with designers to uncover more classic memories and creative possibilities of CMF design.
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Future Design Interwoven with Culture and Ecology
Interior and Home Industry
In the face of rapid environmental deterioration, war, and an aging population, the need to find balance has become more urgent than ever. How can we coexist with nature? How can multiple species thrive together? How can different generations live in harmony? Design now carries a greater moral responsibility, becoming more rational and pragmatic. With a focus on materials, design pursues longevity, versatility, and modularity.
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Exploring the emerging features of tactile design requirements for automotive interior materials, analyzing how to enhance users' tactile experience from the perspective of material technology innovat ...
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1. Harmonizing Sustainability & CMF Design
2. Innovative Materials: The Aesthetic-Functional Nexus
3. Materials: Propelling Design into the Future
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Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2029, POLA is committed to the Group's philosophy of “Sensitize the world to beauty,” which is based on cutting-edge science and a deep understanding of culture and art, aiming to present new values to society through cosmetic products and services.
In this lecture, POLA will talk about its unique research project, Weaving Beauty, and the nature of product design. The researcher will share insights about the project and original studies on beauty from around the world, particularly focusing on China and Japan. The designer will then explain how he designed products inspired by this in-depth research, where beauty and cultural aesthetics intertwine.
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In this talk, Clara Bartholomeu explores the evolving role of CMF design within circular electric vehicle systems. Drawing from her work at Peec Mobility—a MENA-based startup transforming wasted vehicles into electric ones—she reflects on how CMF can lead innovation when traditional production and design process shifts completely.
1. Designing backwards: How reverse manufacturing challenges the conventional CMF workflow and calls for new strategies.
2.Sourcing with purpose: Identifying materials and suppliers that meet aesthetic, durability, and sustainability goals within circular constraints.
3. Building systems, not just surfaces: Rethinking CMF as a systems-level discipline for sustainable mobility.
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In this age, environmental awareness embedded in CMF design and its commitment to global symbiosis have become key elements that resonate with people. The current challenge is seamlessly incorporating sustainability into CMF design and maintaining an aesthetic balance and maximizing its environmental impact.
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As the automotive industry accelerates its shift toward sustainability and human-centric innovation, CMF design emerges as a pivotal force harmonizing social and commercial values. This speech explore ...
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THE FOUR DESIGN THEMES
1. Artificial2. Extra celestial
3. Bio-fuse
4. Earth & archive
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TCL Design Innovation Center applies a unified design language and methodology to harmonize the design aesthetics across all TCL product categories. It has created a distinctive Inspired Nature Aesthetics, inspired by nature and translated into product design and key visual marketing. At the same time, in response to the global trend toward sustainability, TCL has developed the TCL ECO & CMF Strategy to empower diverse product categories and drive innovation continuously.
1. Design Language
2. Inspire Nature Aesthetics
3. ECO & CMF Strategy
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1. The Plasticity of Paper Media
2. Philosophical Reflections on the Symbol of Circular Line Language
3. The Dialogue between Artists and Nature
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As the Asian market continues to rise in the international economy, Asia presents unique values and ideologies, as well as new CMF trend that are both international and regional. As the chief editor of <Asia Color Trend Book> and the curator of “Beyond Craft Japan” in Design Shanghai, will share the new Asian CMF trend, as well as the selection of unique Japanese colors and materials.
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How can we quantify CMF design that deeply resonates with people? And how can we streamline the design process in a more professional and convenient way? We look forward to working with you at this forum to explore solutions.
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Glimmers, forecasted in WGSN of STEPIC reports for 2026, are set to become a vital coping tool for consumers weathering a global polycrisis and what feels like a darkening future. In 2026，a key consumer sentiment ， analysing its global impact and what it means for brands in the next two years.Emotions shape consumers’ perceptions and evaluations of products and brands, directly influencing purchasing decisions and brand affiliation. In this report, we unpack key concepts around how emotions work in consumer behaviour and how to harness emotional intelligence for brand relevance, transformation and growth.
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Reconstructing the Sense of Safety through Materials
Automotive Industry, Micro Homes, Future Work Pods
The past is memory, and the future is imagination In humanity's visions of the future, there is always a thread of ancient memory, a connection tinged with nostalgia. Nostalgia is a complex and paradoxical emotion -both sorrowful and joyful. The sorrow comes from the fact that the moment no longer exists, while the joy stems from the ability to relive it through memory. Recalling that time and place allows one to experience the happiness of that moment once again.
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1. Welcome & Introduction
2. Chris's Advanced Principles for Applying CMF & Materials Led Design Innovation
3. Hands-On with Materials: Materials as storytellers
4. Understanding CMF trends & Chris's 2025 trends
5.Hands-On with Material Samples: Developing new CMF effects from trends
6. Chris to present Materials & Manufacuring Innovations
7. Q&A & Wrap-Up
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Beyond the senses: How design can awaken joyful material experiences
Real Estate Industry - Architectural Design
Derived from the concept of "Momentarism," it embraces an optimistic attitude toward an uncertain future. By focusing on the details of everyday life, it seeks to make every "small moment" harmonious and fulfilling-neither clinging to the past nor fixating on the future.In this moment, time stands still. The past is negated, the future fades away, but the perception of space is infinitely amplified. This fleeting instant becomes the most beautiful moment in life.
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1.Justin Lin: Drive Organizational Innovation with Design
2.Yumian Deng: Designers' Reflections in the AI Era
3.Zhongyang Zheng: The Values of Design
4.Kaiyuan Wei: Shaping the Future: The Transformation of AI Product Paradigm
5.Question & Answer
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