CGT Automotive sets the mood [Sponsored]

Name CGT Automotive
Established 1928
Global HQ Ontario, Canada
Design studio Bingham Farms, Michigan
Design manager Lilana Nicoghosian
Contact lilana.nicoghosian@cgtower.com
Website www.cgtower.com

Canadian company CGT supplies cutting-edge synthetics to most OEMs in the auto industry. In her role as chief designer, CGT Global Automotive Division, former Ford color and trim designer Lilana Nicoghosian brings a wealth of experience and insight to the company's drive to provide customers with modern, tactile materials inspired by the latest trends in fashion and product design.

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The mood board pictured was created by Nicoghosian for the 2014-'15 design show, which she will present to OEM design studios in Europe, China and North America.

"We visit fashion, furniture and product design shows around the world, gather that trend information and bring it to our innovation studio in Michigan. Then we strategically fit these trends into automotive scenarios and work one-on-one with the OEM designers to retrofit these ideas into their future programs," she says.

This mood board explores the concept of darkness being evoked by touches of light and color, of shapes and objects being elaborated through the use of color and materials.

"One example is patent leather to accent an interior, or wrapping interior trim appliqués with our synthetic to allow the designer to use the same accent on seating, doors or anywhere else they desire. Designers use accents as fine detail differentiators."

The ‘affordable luxury' mood board highlights how designers are looking at materials as a means of differentiating their brands as well as their model series.

"Synthetics are gaining popularity on surfaces previously reserved for leather," says Nicoghosian, citing the example of the Lincoln MKC, which uses 100 percent synthetic CGT coverstock on its mid trim-level seat A-surface. "A new generation of designers and consumers is open to the idea of non-traditional luxury materials; engineered or man-made materials backed by technology is the ‘new' luxury."

‘The magic of memory' mood board explores the way in which unusual combinations of colors and materials enhance the physical form.

The ‘Repel' anti-staining system is part of CGT's flagship ‘Black Label' coverstock product line. "Light colored interiors are in trend," says Nicoghosian. "For that we designed an anti-staining system that's made by applying a smooth, thin film or barrier to the leatherette surface that's repellent to water, dye and other foreign matter."

Also under the Black Label line is Aeolis, a moisture management system that closely mimics natural leather breathability at normal and high perspiration levels.

The ‘Dimensional' line, meanwhile, is CGT's full interior integrator. TPO and PVC composite offerings provide the designer with greater formability, allowing their imagination to flow through into every interior.

The third line is ‘Neo-Nature'. This includes the award-winning ‘Vehreo' coverstock, which employs post-consumer waste such as recycled PET plastic bottles, organic oils and biological feedstocks to reduce the material's carbon footprint while still meeting the demanding requirements of automotive interior trim applications. "For the future we're working on delivering a 100 percent sustainable product made entirely from plants," adds Nicoghosian.

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