Color brand Dunn-Edwards Paints is attempting to stay competitive in the digital paint sector with its new InstaColor mobile application and ColorView rendering tool, which allow users to test paint swatches on uploaded photos of their rooms.

Dunn-Edwards is the latest paint retailer to join the foray of color-matching apps, following brands such as Sherwin-Williams that are also ramping up to reach consumers on mobile devices. The Dunn-Edwards InstaColor app enables users to view all 1,996 colors available in its Perfect Palette color system, while the ColorView tool lets individuals take a photo of any scene to get a taste of what it might look like painted with the chosen color.

?Initially retail consumers (what we call ?homeowners?) weren?t a strong part of our motivation for creating a mobile app,? said Gabrielle Pascoe, interactive producer at Dunn-Edwards, Los Angeles. ?Our customer base is 90 percent painting contractors and they spend their time working out in the field rather than sitting at a desk.

?We wanted to put our brand in their hands, coming to them where they naturally were.  That said, we came around to the idea of a consumer-friendly app to support the launch of our new Then, Now and Forever Collection, which adds an additional 300 colors to our color library and which launched just this week.?

Fueling inspiration
The brand is hoping that consumers will be more likely to purchase colors after viewing a relevant sample of them in their homes. With the InstaColor app, which is available for iPhone, customers can see details on each swatch, as well as corresponding trim and accent colors.

Users can also mix and match swatches to get a better idea of how combinations might work in their homes, and add favorites within the app.

Home décor enthusiasts can also share their favorite colors or combinations on a variety of social networking sites, including Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, or inspire others to play around with swatches via text message or email.

?Choosing a paint color is all about finding inspiration, and inspiration doesn?t live in the 2-foot perimeter around your desktop computer,? Ms. Pascoe said. ?It?s everywhere! It?s out in the world. We wanted to give consumers a way to capture it wherever they find it, and help them translate their inspiration into home décor with a uniquely personal flavor. 

?And it?s like having our whole fan deck with you wherever you go. You can actually expand any one of our colors to fill the whole screen of your mobile device so that your phone acts like a paint chip ? taking into account, of course, variations in screen settings affect colors,? she said.

The app offers a store locator for those who may want to visit the colors in-person, and links directly to features on the brand?s Web site, such as Order Color Chips and ColorKeeper.

Meanwhile, other major color companies including Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams offer similar mobile apps. Benjamin Moore?s Color Capture app allows consumers to snap a photo of any item or scene and instantly receive its color match in the brand?s collection.

Sherwin-Williams? ColorSnap app provides a similar function, and is also available for those who prefer to browse on their iPads.

Staying competitive
Dunn-Edwards is aiming to stay competitive in this space by rolling out the ColorView feature, a rendering tool that also enables users to snap a picture of any room and paint it virtually. Consumers can download swatches into a variety of programs, such as Sketch-Up and Adobe Illustrator.

The platform also gives Color-Ark Home customers the ability to use an online database to save all color purchases for future reference.

The digital offerings are being introduced to promote Dunn-Edwards? Then, Now & Forever collection, an enhancement on its Perfect Palette color system. The new collection features 300 colors, nearly half of which were inspired by architecture of the American West.

Other options include 158 trending colors that have become popular with design professionals. The palette offers swatches in ranges of blues, oranges, grays and browns.

?Our analytics tell us that mobile is both important today and also growing,? Ms. Pascoe said. ?And it?s not just how many people use it, it?s the way they use it.

?Mobile users came to our old site even though it wasn?t responsive, and overwhelmingly they clicked on the store finder. Giving those users greater ease of access to that information on a platform they were already using (mobile) was a no-brainer.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York