Color Development at BASF

Automotive designers typically decide what colors will appear on and in car and truck lines years in advance of when they are actually produced and available to consumers. Therefore, a keen awareness of future trends in color and design is essential to an automotive company's success in the marketplace. By providing accurate and innovative information, BASF Color Trend shows help designers in their search for new and unique colors that will give their products identity and distinction on the road.... down the road.Each year, BASF presents forecasts of upcoming trends in color for automotive coatings and showcases its new technologies. Reflecting its worldwide structure and the global nature of the automotive industry, BASF Color Trend shows are based on a wide variety of information and analyses gathered from the company's principal sources for automotive coatings creativity and technical expertise: Germany, the United States and Japan.Because most automotive companies compete for market share on a global scale, BASF's ability to collaborate on color and design trends through its global network and its awareness of future directions in specific regions are key attributes to Color Design shows bringing value to automotive designers.At BASF, future directions in color are identified by the company's designers and stylists who follow and interpret new trends. These trends can emerge from a myriad of resources, such as technology, lifestyles and fashion. Further capitalizing on BASF's vast resources, additional and relevant trend information is drawn from other company entities active in the automotive industry or color-related products, such as from BASF's Pigments business unit or the Fiber Products division.Color development at BASF is not limited to identifying future trends. New possibilities in colors and effects presented by BASF are backed up with the research and technology that enable its concepts to be realized in the manufacturing plant.