Q. Can you tell us about your career in the Design Department?
I joined the company in 1995 and was placed in charge of interior styling. After that, I was assigned to exterior styling, where I stayed longest. Subsequently, I began overseeing colour design, then overall design.
Q. How did you become involved in developing these coatings?
I was transferred to the Colour Design CMF (Colour, Material, Finish) Group in 2017. A year before
then, mass production had begun of Burning Red, a triple-coat paint for the Swift.
Other companies had already begun taking on the challenges of triple-coat paints with red hues, and
Suzuki too, had succeeded in mass production. I was placed in charge of the next stage, so I was
inspired by a desire to develop Suzuki’s original triple-coat paint.
Q. Why did you choose this blue colour after Burning Red?
People often ask me that, but for me, it was a no brainer.
The “S” mark is red in Suzuki’s CI, while the letters of “SUZUKI” are in blue.
Another reason was the environment. Suzuki’s head office in Hamamatsu is surrounded by water in three
directions with the sea, river and lake.
There’s Tenryu River to the east, Lake Hamana to the west, and the Enshunada Sea to the south.
With the expansive blue sky, I thought blue was the one and only colour that could portray this
environment.
First, we created inspiration boards for the three coatings with the blue hues of the sea, river, lake
and sky.
We set the levels of brightness and saturation, before initiating development in collaboration with a
paint manufacturer.
Q. What did you discuss with the paint manufacturer?
I remember taking some time just to decide the colour (blue) I wanted to aim for. It’s easy to make a triple-coat paint with a red hue appear attractive. But that’s not easy to do with blue.
I too, was aware of that.
I told the paint manufacturer about it, and everyone said it would be complicated.
They first said it would be very difficult. But I remember deciding we’d try our best regardless of the outcome.
Q. How did you develop the ideal colour and bring out its charms in the new paint?
First, we had a prototype created for the triple coating, with a reflective layer, a clear layer and a pearl layer.
But it wasn’t much different from the two-coat paint.
There was little difference despite the extra layer of paint.
What was needed to make a difference?
Pursuing this through trial and error was extremely difficult.
We tried so many patterns I can’t even remember the exact number. The results of trial and error revealed that we could make a difference by adding a touch of red to the shaded areas.
As for the highlighted parts, they’re deep blue, of course, but we changed it to a greenish-blue.
We discovered that this would allow the coating to shine from within.
We realised this was the answer, and that’s what we decided to pursue.
Q. Developing paints involves production technology, but did you have to make any special adjustments?
Designing usually comes first when developing body colours, and your presentation on the colour has to be approved before it’s passed on to the Production Technology Division. But could we ensure stability in applying the paint?
The triple coating would require the use of an extra tank at the expense of another colour. When you think about the feasibility of this, there were very difficult challenges in developing the production technology, in addition to the colour itself.
So, I discussed this with the Production Technology Division before the presentation.
Discussing whether the colour we wanted to develop was possible was an unconventional way of doing things.
Q. How did the people involved in on-site production react?
We received different reactions, with some expressing deep concerns over the difficulties.
However, Mr. Ebina was originally involved in developing candy-like colours for motorcycles. We began working together after he transferred from the Motorcycle Division, and he said, “That sounds like fun. Let’s do it!”
He worked alongside me until the end, and I feel he’s like a comrade to me.
Q. What happened after that?
In asking for cooperation, we ultimately decided on one paint manufacturer. We then devoted ourselves to fine-tuning the colour. But solving one problem simply created another, and this happened over and over again.
The paint manufacturer even told us explicitly that it was impossible.
But we built a relationship with them in which we made gradual progress by moving forward one step, and moving back half a step. I feel they worked in solidarity with us.
Q. How did you feel when you finally succeeded??
It took us 7 long years to develop this colour, but it would go to waste without obtaining approval in the in-house presentation. I felt scared more than satisfied, because all the time we spent would be meaningless without an approval.
I wanted this presentation to offer everyone a surprise.
Instead of placing the car inside the inspection facility like usual, I tried a presentation in which it was kept covered and was unveiled after the executives had gathered around.
On the day, we had excellent weather for presenting the vehicle and showcasing its colour. Many of the executives had stern expressions on their faces, but they gasped the moment the vehicle was unveiled.
It was a moment that left a lasting impression on me, and I also felt exhilarated!
Q. What is the role of colour to you (or your philosophy on colour),
Mr. Miyazawa?
As you can tell by looking at our product lineup, Suzuki doesn’t have a standardised design philosophy or rules for standardising colours.
The design philosophy cherished by Suzuki is to pursue what makes each car unique.
I want to develop colours that will make customers say, “I bought this car because of its shape, as well as its colour,” or “I bought this car because I liked the colour.”
Q. We have the actual car here, but how did you feel when you finally arrived at your goal?
We coated many cars before finally succeeding.
We began by painting small areas, and when we moved up to real cars, we did it over and over again to check for discrepancies with the colour we were aiming for.
When we decided on this colour, I was flooded with emotions of finally having found my goal, and memories of persistently tackling this challenge raced through my mind.
I feel nothing but gratitude towards all our skilled craftsmen who repainted the cars tirelessly and never gave up, and those who shared the hardships with me.
