Salt. Material and color forecast
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BRIEF
Every year, Asian Paints tasks us with taking their trend forecasts from colors to materials and finishes and transforming them into tangible, usable concepts. In this project, we were challenged to take inspiration from Salt, a humble ingredient, and translate its sensory and material qualities into an innovative interior concept. Our role was to explore salt’s complexity and reimagine it as a material of the future, creating a design-forward application that resonates in the real world.
Salt is being re-evaluated as a promising biomaterial for the future. With its crystalline beauty, natural antibacterial properties, and ability to diffuse light, salt offers a rich material language rooted in both science and symbolism.
We set out to explore how these inherent qualities of salt could shape new material expressions, ones that are functional, sustainable, and emotionally resonant. This exploration led us to craft a cohesive material palette that captures salt’s tactile purity, luminosity, and structural strength.
Salt’s increasing abundance, especially as a by product of desalination, makes it a viable and sustainable resource. Across fields like wellness, architecture, product and spatial design, there’s increasing interest in salt for its functional benefits, cultural symbolism, and unique sensory appeal.
During our research, we found many inspiring projects that reference salt’s geological origins and reinterpret its natural and cultural heritage through art, design, and architecture.
Salt evokes a sense of curious wonder, grounded in familiarity yet layered with mystery. It symbolizes permanence and stability, while undergoing constant transformation physically.
- Key descriptors of Salt’s emotional narrative
- Ethereal
- Crystalline
- Shape-shifting
- Metaphysical
- Primordial
This sensorial landscape informed our material choices, favouring surfaces that are fluid, layered, and mutate organically.
To translate salt’s unique aesthetic into tangible materials, we explored both hard and soft surfaces.
Hard materials like travertine, rusted iron, and casted glass reflect salt’s crystalline structure, mineral origins, and raw textures.
Soft materials such as sheer, flowy textiles, microtextured fabrics, and encrusted beadwork capture salt’s delicacy and fine-scale detail. Together, this palette embodies an ethereal beauty that is layered, reflective, and sensorial.
Our research and exploration culminated in a material board that captures the essence of salt in all its forms. solid, soft, and sensorial. The final material palette bridges natural beauty with modern innovation, setting the foundation for an aesthetic that is deeply rooted in elemental materials, yet forward-looking.
Its applications span across fashion, interior, and product design, offering a fresh, tactile language
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