Beyond Design

Product Accents Turn the Ordinary into Extraodinary

April 2, 2025

Introduction

In product design, every detail counts. While product form and function take center stage, product accents use colors, materials, and finishes (CMF) to help define identity, usability, and emotional appeal.

Small touches transform ordinary products into extraordinary ones. Like alchemy, strategic design magically affects a product’s consumer perception and user experiences, elevating it from mundane to exceptional. Across industries and product categories, the power of accents is everywhere.

Why Accents Matter

Product accents aren’t just for show; they serve several key design purposes, including:

1. Aesthetic Appeal – Accents create visual contrast and make products more attractive and memorable.
2. Brand Identity – Brands use distinctive accent colors and materials to differentiate their products.
3. Usability – Finish and color can improve ergonomics and provide intuitive cues for user interaction.
4. Emotional Connection – The right accent choices evoke specific emotions and influence how users perceive a product.
5. Market Differentiation – Unique material and color choices set products apart in a competitive market.

With these purposes in mind, let’s examine specific accent elements designers use to make their products extraordinary.

Types of Accent Elements

1. Accent Colors

• Functional Accents – UI uses color to highlight interactive elements (e.g., yellow touchpoints on Zebra printers or iOS’s blue buttons for interactive elements).
• Brand-Specific Accents – Signature colors instantly define a brand (e.g., Tiffany Blue jewelry boxes or Louboutin Red bottom shoes that draw attention).
• Contrast & Visibility—Visible colors signal clarity in industrial and electronic products (e.g., DeWalt power tools or Alienware technology illuminate key details).

Accent colors highlight the product function, brand language, and visibility.

Beyond Design uses color strategically in our designs. The RemWave Sleep Monitor glows from the bottom to signal to users that the device is powered and functions properly, and the Ranpak Autofill has a shining stripe along the top to make it look more approachable and to communicate where boxes emerge from at the end of the packaging process.

2. Accent Materials

• Metallic Accents – Metal accents give a product a premium feel (e.g., the Logitech Mouse brushed metal scroll wheel adds a tactile, premium feel, and Samsung watches have a stainless steel rotating bezel that provides a functional and premium touch).
• Wood Accents – Wooden accents add warmth to luxury cars and high-end speakers (e.g., BMW 7 Series, Bang and Olufsen Speakers).
• Transparency – Transparent materials are a major brand identifier, exposing internal components as a design feature (e.g., Nothing Phone, Jellyfish Swatch)

Accent materials add a premium feel, warmth, and unique identity to products.

Two of our designs make clever use of transparent materials to improve the user experience. The Excalibur Dehydrator has a clear ceiling window so users can monitor their food without losing heat by opening the door, and the US Foods Simpull includes a transparent plastic front to show the number of utensils left in the device and when it needs a refill.

3. Accent Textures

• Matte vs. Glossy – Smartphones and laptops often use a combination of matte and glossy finishes to create subtle design differentiation (e.g., Microsoft’s Surface computers and tablets, Beats headphones)
• Embossing & Engraving – A tactile and visual distinction is added with embosses and engravings, typically used in luxury items (Montblanc pens, Louis Vuitton leather bags).
• Ribbed & Grooved Textures – Surface features like ribs and grooves improve grip and durability in rugged products (e.g., GoPro cameras, Stanley tape measures).

Accent textures enhance the appeal, feel, and durability of products.

Texture is an important design detail to add to our products to make them function better. The Harting Type 1 EV Charging Connector uses a textured handheld grip to secure the device in the user’s hand, and the Remington Wet Tech Razor design has finger grooves to prevent potential shaving slippage for increased user safety.

Putting It All Together

Accent colors, materials, and textures go beyond decorative elements to shape how we perceive, use, and remember products. Details like bold color choice, a premium material, or a thoughtful texture influence function and emotion to create great design. As consumer expectations evolve, adding thoughtful accent elements will remain critical for designers creating standout products in crowded markets. Good design is the magical alchemy that makes products go from ordinary to extraordinary.

To better understand how to incorporate accents into your product designs, send us an email at info@startbeyond.com.