Waymo CMF
Autonomous Automotive.
CMF designers shape a product’s visual identity and user experience through color, materials, and finishes. Beyond aesthetics, our team at Waymo elevated this process by integrating data-driven decision-making, utilizing tools such as spectrophotometers, gloss meters, wave scans, light booths, and digital microscopes to quantify and refine our material and color choices. By blending creativity with scientific analysis, we developed a distinctive, high-quality CMF strategy that embodies Waymo’s innovation and brand vision.
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Role: Color Material and Finish (CMF) Designer
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Team: Yi-Hui Bruce-Wen (Wolwold), Nadia Mkhitaryan, and Sabrina Nassar
Exterior Paint Development
The process involved refining multiple iterations of the hue, including solid, metallic, and special effect versions incorporating pigments like pearl and mica. The objective was to achieve the visual depth of a tri-coat finish while minimizing layers to optimize cost-efficiency.
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To refine the formula, I collaborated with a local automotive paint store and researched existing color catalogs, adjusting formulations to match our desired outcome. This project deepened my knowledge of paint flop, automotive paint mixing, and color formulation for production. The final goal was to develop a production-ready, cost-effective paint finish that met both aesthetic and manufacturing requirements.
Capsule Collection
The Capsule Collection is a set of Waymo-inspired 3D forms designed to showcase painted color selections dynamically, helping us assess automotive paint flop under various conditions. Built from classic Waymo brand shapes, the Capsule Collection enhances our ability to make informed design decisions.
Waymo Blue Visual Tolerance
To address color tolerance challenges with a selected material, we explored how much flexibility we could allow within our specifications without compromising Waymo’s brand identity. This project was conducted in two stages: first, to refine or expand acceptable tolerances, and second, to identify solutions for yellowing and substrate aging. Through data-driven analysis and material testing, we aimed to ensure long-term color consistency and durability while maintaining Waymo’s high design standards.
Exterior Grain Texture Benchmarking
As part of a mold-in-color texture benchmarking study, existing exterior plastic textures were analyzed to compare texture intent with those already seen on the road. The focus was on identifying key design trends across premium and off-road vehicles, examining how texture influences aesthetics, durability, and maintenance.
Observations revealed that rugged vehicles tend to have wider valleys between texture peaks, contributing to durability, while rounded textures appeared cleaner as they retained less dirt. These insights will inform future material and texture selection to balance functionality, aesthetics, and longevity.
