A new tool produced by the “designfabrik” team at BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com), developed for designers and development engineers working in automotive design, has received the “Grand innovation award” in the image / product brochure category at the Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE, Newtown, Connecticut / USA; www.4spe.org) tenth automotive awards.

The “material kit” is an aesthetically designed sample case that displays a large range of examples of BASF’s materials expertise. Organised by feel, appearance and function, the kit presents over 30 different products – rigid or flexible PU, foams, coatings, pigments and high performance plastics – in the form of 4 x 6 cm samples so designers can get a real feel for the products they are considering for their automobile interior design concepts. Text cards provide information on the materials’ properties and specific uses. The company said the kit provides a “different kind of brochure: touch and feel instead of technical data sheets,” that gives designers a feeling for the material from the very beginning of the creative development process.