Sherwin-Williams has replaced its traditional racks of paint swatches with an interactive ColorSnap Studio display that groups its 1,500 paint colors by shade and saturation level.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sherwin-Williams has redesigned its paint displays and launched a line of ColorSnap palette-picking tools that it says will completely change the way homeowners pick their paint colors.
The Cleveland-based paint company has replaced its traditional racks of paint swatches with an interactive ColorSnap Studio display that groups colors by shade and saturation level. Each of the 24 rotating color panels in the display swivels to reveal a curated selection of nearly 50 paint chips within that color family, on larger 2-by-3-inch color chips that make it easier to imagine painting a wall in that color. They're replacing those old 10-inch color strips that had seven colors.
The displays feature nearly 200 new shades from "high demand color families, including blues, yellows and neutrals," as well as a new category of whites, for a total of more than 1,500 paint colors. The colors were developed with experts at Sherwin-Williams' Breen Technology Center in Cleveland, the company's global research-and-development headquarters.
Customers who tried the displays in stores picked out their paint colors in an average of 60 percent less time than with the old color racks, Sherwin-Williams said.
The displays, created in collaboration with a global designed consultancy named IDEO, are already up in its Northeast Ohio paint stores, and will roll out to all 4,000 of its retail locations in the U.S. and Canada by January 2016.
Customers and professionals can still ask the in-store color and design experts, who are available for in-home color consultation, as well as take home color guides and postcards to help with the color selection process, the company said.
Sherwin-Williams is also offering ColorSnap Visualizer tools for iPhone, iPad, Android and online at sherwinwilliams.com, to let consumers experiment with colors on their own. If they scan one of those 2-by-3-inch color chips with their smartphone, they will see a series of rooms painted in that color, as well as suggestions for coordinating shades and accents.
ColorSnap Visualizer can also help users match a color in a photo, from a home decor accessory, or from a competitor's paint brand to the closest Sherwin-Williams paint in that hue, using its Sher-Color Advanced Color Matching Technology. The customer can then virtually paint a room in that color.
For interior designers and other professionals, the company is offering a ColorSnap Design Pro Suite with an ergonomic fan deck and updated design kits, available in early 2016. The company said it consulted professional painters and designers through the development and testing process.
"With the ColorSnap system, we've created a completely new way to navigate color," said Jackie Jordan, Sherwin-Williams' director of color marketing, in a statement. "Whether in their neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store, at home or on the go, ColorSnap provides a solution to easily explore and find color any way the consumer chooses."
