When The Chips Are Up!

COLOR CHIPS AND SAMPLES take many forms in many industries, including architecture/building. I am used to small samples for fine art paint brands, PMS colors for graphic design, paint chips for my walls, and more.

While visiting a new construction site for an outdoor street-type mall including Target and other stores, my husband and I had a momentary “wow” moment.

In the distance were the biggest paint chips/samples we had ever seen. Just for scale, you can see them here with tiny me in the shot. We got a good laugh from seeing these huge swatches. They were easy to read and view for more than 1/4 mile.

I understood perhaps why and what they were for. I switched my eyes back and forth between the swatches and the buildings (which were partly finished) and noted a few things.

The painters could get a quick glance at the code of color for mixing. Decorators could glance and tell which colors would look good for primary or trim. And the best of all to my mind is that as the sun moved the colors changed (so too, with fine art painting) so the “powers that be” could tell how the overall mall would look at any given time of day.

I am not really sure of their purpose, but it was a great find. Lesson? Whenever painting for your own home/office or as for a real fine art painting. Sometimes it’s good to paint some large swatches before committing to any. I have done this for years for our walls, but what a fun thing to see at a construction site!!