Meet Christina Hsu | Color, Material, and Finish Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Hsu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
Being a CMF (Color Material and Finish) Designer, I specialize in studying, developing, and designing materials to be used on products. This includes understanding the properties of materials, how it looks and feels, and how color can be applied to create a product that communicates its value to customers. For example, power tools that you see at the hardware store look and feel very different from something like an office chair. Each of these products live in very different contexts in our lives, and each product performs very different functions and provides value to us in different ways. In conjunction with the way an object is shaped, a CMF Designer focuses on how the materials on the product can be designed to enable the experience of that product: for a hand drill, a CMF designer would think about the type of materials that are robust enough to endure the demanding environments they’re needed in while having the tactile qualities to make it safe and easy to operate for the user; or for an office chair, a designer might investigate the type of cushioning and fabric that enables a more comfortable and productive experience sitting in such a chair. Deciding what the right look and feel is for a product can sound like a very intuitive process, but in reality, the work of a CMF designer is quite rigorous. My work demands that I understand how new or existing products are using materials and color to enable an effective product experience, or if they’re not, then what are the opportunities that a different material and color application could improve the way a product is seen and used. Materials can communicate different things depending on weight, texture, visual effects, finish, and flexibility. Color can equally convey different messages depending on its hue, value, saturation, and how it’s complemented or contrasted with other colors in the same product. Designing CMF that offers a great product experience requires understanding what the product needs to do for the user, how someone should see the product and feel about it, and the qualities of materials and colors that would facilitate those desired traits. How something feels and looks can often be regarded as a subjective topic, which is why my area of expertise can sometimes be misunderstood as a discipline that requires woo-woo skills to design for people’s emotional associations with materials and colors. In some ways, yes, designers need to have a good eye for what feels right aesthetically. But people outside of the design industry often overlook the fact that our decisions are informed by studying how people interact with objects, how they respond to visual signals, how they respond to textures and finishes by hand. The end result of a product is a culmination of months – or sometimes, years – of user research, design concepting and refinement, and testing those ideas before a final design is brought to market. It’s quite magical how much rational thinking and strategic planning goes into designing a successful product that feels effortless and natural when it’s being used the way it’s intended. And it’s even more exciting when I see that materials and colors are a significant part of making the experience an enjoyable one.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My latest project is an online platform called Color Material Design (colormaterialdesign.com). To give you more context about how this project came about, I’ll have to share my experience with building my career in CMF design. Something that people outside of the design industry may not know is that the field of CMF Design is a young one. I’m one of a handful of people who identify as a CMF Designer, and I know most of us have had to find our way into practicing CMF design professionally through very different routes that eventually led us all to where we are today. When I graduated from design school, there was no program where you could formally learn about CMF Design. There is a growing demand for CMF Designers today, especially in the consumer tech industry, but there isn’t quite an established framework for CMF design education, and therefore, no established route or resources to support new grads wanting to build a career in CMF Design. To fill in the gap between CMF design education and professional practice, I’m working on a platform that would provide a resource to students, new grads, and design professionals interested in CMF Design. I want this to be a practical sourcebook that encourages designers to think more deeply about the role materials and color play in product design, and how this knowledge can empower them to design better products. This would also be a handbook for students and new grads who would otherwise not have a place to turn to for information about CMF design and how to build a career around it. This project was born out of my realization that most CMF professionals today have had to pave their own way in finding CMF opportunities through word of mouth, personal connections, and sometimes, luck in being at the right place at the right time. I want to take the mystery out of this career and pass on what I’ve learned through experience in my education and on the job. In some ways, undertaking this project has made me realize that I’m taking control of so many of the unknowns in my career path and shining a light on lessons and experiences that can feel much less intimidating if a mentor was there to offer guidance and practical support. This project is essentially everything I wish I had as a design student and as a young professional to answer all my questions about the world of CMF design and how to navigate it. And I hope my audience will find Color Material Design a reliable resource that gives them the confidence to learn and pursue CMF, and contribute to a growing dialogue about its value and place in the world of consumer products and beyond.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I always think food is a fantastic great way to explore a city and enjoy being with good company. Some restaurants off the top of my head: Republique, Osteria Mozza, Bestia, Broken Spanish, Here’s Looking at You, Matsuhisa, The Butcher’s Daughter, Gjusta. LA is such an expansive and diverse place that you could explore one neighborhood one day and have a very different adventure the next day. Make sure to check out Malibu, Venice, Downtown LA, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, West Hollywood. A couple favorite bookshops of mine: Hennessey + Ingalls, Kinokuniya, and the Last Bookstore. And of course, the museums and the Griffith Observatory. My best advice would be to pick a couple destinations to explore around, but let the rest of your day take you on an unexpected adventure.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have been blessed to have friends, family, and others I’ve encountered support me along the way. I know who those people are and I can’t be grateful enough to find myself doing work today that I truly enjoy and work I know will be shaping the lives of people. Coming from my background, I realize that resources and information about the type of work that I do with are not widely available. In a conscious effort to pay it forward, I’d love to share resources that have made a difference in my life and career in CMF Design, and pass on knowledge that I know I would have found valuable starting out in the field. The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns: This is another valuable resource in my library of practical advice. It’s full of meaningful, actionable insights on how to stand out and build a sustainable creative business. This book may be intended for consultants or owners of design firms, but I also see it as an essential set of guidelines on how to navigate conversations as an individual designer in any context. The most valuable takeaway from this is that designers should be empowered by their expertise and the value they bring into any conversation, so seeing themselves as equal partners in projects with any stakeholder re-frames the dialogue between designer and client as a partnership, rather than one between salesperson and customer. The Futur podcast by Chris Do: Chris Do was an instructor at my design school and is founder/CEO of his branding firm Blind. I never took his classes, but I’ve followed his career since I was still a student. Back then, he was already advocating for designers to be better businesspeople. His latest project is The Futur, a platform promoting a new type of design education that offers accessibility to all students regardless of financial background, location, and time. His teachings are focused on shaping creative professionals to be more well-rounded and successful by integrating business thinking and good marketing into their creative work. The Futur offers a number of great video content on the website, and the podcast is equally valuable with guest interviews who share experiences on building businesses around their creative endeavors and the lessons they learned along the way. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White: If there was a handbook for writing effectively, this would be it. Designers aren’t exactly known for being great written communicators, but this skill is essential in communicating ideas and selling your designs to clients, non-designers, and any audience you present your work to. Writing well correlates with having clear ideas and logical thinking that invites your audience into the conversation. Great ideas don’t go anywhere if they’re not understood and can’t rally the support of peers and clients. This book is a practical, concise read on the fundamentals of clear, well-executed communication for any context.

Website: https://www.colormaterialdesign.com/

Instagram: @colormaterial_design and @christinafh

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/christinafhsu