BASF sets off for new shades

The mobility turnaround promotes new trends in automotive colours that differ from the classic colour spaces. In addition, the current Automotive Colour Trends "On Volude" features for the first time a colour developed together with an AI.

The designers at BASF Coating draw their inspiration from industry and fashion, from technologies and consumer products to nature. They share this research with their customers, the car manufacturers, to help shape the future of mass production. Artificial intelligence played a role for the first time in the creation of the "On Volude" collection this year. With the help of Ki, designs were created that human designers would not have put together spontaneously at first. First, prompts were written, then the AI developed images, which in turn were converted into usable images by the designers in various iteration stages, and the colours were developed.

This year, On Volude combines functional concepts with realistic approaches. With their focus on technology and innovation, the designers are setting new impulses in colour design. In the colour palette for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), there is a clear focus on light beige tones. Pastel shades also play an important role - they bring exciting colour locations not previously seen in automotive design. The new shades take into account new features such as the use of sustainable and recycled raw materials, LiDAR and radar compatible concepts and haptic surfaces. In this year's colour collection, red pastel and mid-tones are replaced by yellow and green shades. Mark Gutjahr reveals details about the new colours in an interview with mo. Gutjahr is a designer at BASF Coatings and a founding member of the "kombinat" group, which specialises in project development and product design.