Paint brand Sherwin-Williams jumped onboard with Google?s smart wearable technology, Google Glass, and launched a new application designed to fundamentally change how users discover and select color.

The ColorSnap Glass app is in beta and was developed by marketing agency Resource. The app enables users to capture color and turn real-world color into paint color swatches.

?Any wearable technology that features a built-in camera creates an opportunity for consumers to capture color inspiration,? said Dan Shust, vice president of innovation at Resource, Columbus, OH.

?As wearables get more sophisticated, we believe there will be increased opportunities to tap into augmented reality technology,? he said.

?It really is an exciting space for Resource and Sherwin-Williams.?

Sherwin-Williams worked with marketing agency Resource to develop the app as part of the Google Explorer program, which gives select companies and individuals early access to Glass.

Simple user experience
Google Glass is a small, wearable computer with an optical display integrated into a pair of glasses that is voice-enabled to allow for hands-free online computing activities.

Users of the ColorSnap app can tell Google Glass to take a picture of something they see in the world and match it to paint color swatches from Sherwin Williams. The app pairs the photo with a superimposed Sherwin-Williams color palette that matches colors in the photo.

Users can share the color with someone else, who can then reply with a comment about that color, or tap into the color palette to swipe between full-screen color swatches for each color.

Users can also ask Glass to show them directions to the nearest Sherwin-Williams store.

?Our goal was to create an application that felt like it was built into Google Glass, so it had to be a simple and enjoyable user experience,? Mr. Shust said.

The app is available for download from www.colorsnapglass.com.

The next level
The Sherwin-Williams app follows Fidelity Investments introduction of a Google Glass app enabling users to view a hands-free display of quotes from major United States stock indexes at market close (see story).

While wearable computing technology is still new, it is developing quickly as Samsung, Qualcomm, Pebble and possibly Apple explore the potential of smart watches.

Sherwin-Williams and Resource have collaborated on other apps for smart devices, such as the ColorSnap mobile app which was introduced in 2009. The app has been downloaded more than one million times.

While both apps are designed to help users explore color, the Google Glass app has been streamlined, bringing forward features that are best suited for wearable technology.

Earlier this year, the paint brand took to print advertising to educate consumers about its color-matching mobile application with a campaign that ran in Food Network Magazine (see story).

?ColorSnap for iPhone and iPad gave consumers a friction-free way to capture color inspiration,? Mr. Shust said. ?Google Glass takes the application to the next level by adding a digital layer right before their eyes.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York