BASF receives “Design for Asia Awards 2015” for coatings color trend book

• Global color trend book “RAW” wins award for its design quality
• Unique color communication tool for automotive designers worldwide

Ludwigshafen, Germany – December 16, 2015 – BASF has been recognized at the “Design for Asia Awards 2015” for the latest edition of its annual color trend book, “RAW”. The book, published by BASF’s coatings division, makes color trends and colors tangible for automotive designers in the region and around the world.

The international competition “Design for Asia Awards” has been held by the Hong Kong Design Centre since 2003 and honors outstanding designs directed at the Asian market. In 2015, a total of 765 entries were submitted from 24 countries. The book’s successful concept has also been recognized in the past at the world’s most renowned design awards, including Horizon and Red Dot.

“The book is one of the key elements in our dialog with designers from the automotive industry,” explained Astrid Van der Auwera, Global Strategic Marketing at BASF Coatings. “The overall design of the trend book reflects the components of the color collections we have developed and in so doing creates understanding about the trends we have identified with our intensive research.”

The international team works together to compile the content for the book by analyzing the areas of technology, society and individuality. In this way, each year 65 new colors are created, pointing the way to the automotive color trends of the years to come. “It’s important that in addition to our global orientation, we also recognize regional distinctions and identify connections. Cultural and social differences, especially in Asia, have a deep impact on the color climate. Our collection reflects this very uniqueness,” explained Chiharu Matsuhara, Chief Designer, Color Design Asia Pacific, BASF.

About BASF’s Coatings division
BASF’s Coatings division develops, produces and markets innovative automotive coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. We operate sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as Asia Pacific. Within this network, we collaborate closely with our customers all over the world. In 2014, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about €3 billion. More information about the division is available at www.basf-coatings.com.

About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world’s leading chemical company, we combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of over €74 billion in 2014 and around 113,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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