AkzoNobel’s Performance Coatings business has launched its color trends guide in South Korea, showcasing how design will influence the next generation of smartphones, tablet computers and automotive interiors. The guide was developed to help provide inspiration for customers, particularly in South Korea, where AkzoNobel supplies coatings for manufacturers of consumer electronics and other key industries.

The work continues a long tradition of innovation and customer focus for the company in South Korea, which started in 1980 when a joint venture was established to serve the Korean shipbuilding industry. AkzoNobel currently operates five major production and research sites in Korea, employing more than 800 people.

For the color trends guide, the company carried out its own market research and combined this with input from trend agencies and its own color experts.

“We translate all the information we received into four key trends, eight palettes and 72 color effects and textures,” explained Cindy Kim, Performance Coatings Color Design Manager for Asia.

She added that, for the first time, the design team has also created a Color of the Year, Smooth Copper, which was selected in cooperation with the Aesthetics Center run by AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paints business.

A key part of the 2015 trend is bright, almost neon, accents with a matte finish. Metallic effects are also back, while the more classic silver range is now complemented by different shades of browns and golds – including Smooth Copper.

Continued Kim: “Designers are also looking for different textures and tactile aspects to create subtle contrasts, or they find inspiration from nature, or in the vivid accents of fashion and sport accessories.”