painting stories: discover how mexico was filled with color

Comex: Improving space through color

Over the last seven decades Comex, leading coatings and paints company, has been devoted to filling Mexico with colour. With more than 5,000 locations and a strong presence in the country’s creative spheres, the brand has become an essential element in the collective imaginary of Mexicans. Whether for personal or professional projects, Comex is always the natural choice.

Over the decades, Comex products have become allies of all Mexicans who seek to enhance their space or express their creativity through colour. The wide range of shades and products, complemented by the specialised advice offered by each of its shops, motivates its customers to carry out creative and trendy projects. In this article, designboom and Comex invite you to delve into their world of colour and learn about the history behind this paint powerhouse.

all illustrations by Plan Scusi

consolidating: from the beginnings to modernization

Before becoming Mexico’s leading coatings sales and production company, Comex was a family initiative, a ‘garage’ project like many other successful dreams. Its founders, the Achar Levy family, acquired the hardware store El Gallito in 1943, after years of working in the port of Veracruz. Few would have imagined that a swap for a paint machine would be the beginning of a colourful success story.

Even as the company grew after starting production of Vinimex paints in 1950, it was not until the development of its own distribution network that Comex established itself as a national leader in the industry. This decision was made after a series of boycotts from competitors, which prevented the commercialization of Comex products in shops.

with the development of its distribution network, Comex is consolidating its position as a national leader | © Plan Scusi

Comex’s dealer distribution network not only facilitated consumer access but also created a color-focused shopping experience. The company’s vision has allowed it to reach out to different markets, taking into account painters, architects, interior designers, and contractors, as well as those who carry out personal renovation projects. With this in mind, the retail experience has evolved to offer customized solutions and professional color consulting.

Comex’s retail expertise has evolved to offer customized solutions and professional color consulting. | © Plan Scusi

Modernization and progress at Comex have been an integral process, adapting its products and modifying them to offer the best quality, and at the same time, incorporating technology to enable wider color choices. In the 90s, the incorporation of the computer color matching system, Color Center, multiplied the number of shades that users could choose from, enhancing their creativity and the type of projects. In this way, with the great presence made possible by its thousands of dealers, together with the incorporation of technology, Comex consolidated its position as the number one option in coatings at a national level.

the incorporation of the Color Center system multiplied the number of shades that users could choose from | © Plan Scusi

putting color on walls, canvases, museums, and cities

Gradually, Comex colors spread beyond the walls, staining the streets, designers’ studios, and artists’ canvases. Today, countless spaces have been embellished with its products, demonstrating an extraordinary disciplinary diversification. This significant growth has been the fruit of ties with outstanding cultural actors, ties that are an essential part of Comex’s DNA. Initially developing colors for iconic characters such as Ricardo Legorreta, and later receiving feedback from industry leaders in ColorLife Trends program.

countless spaces have been embellished with Comex products. | © Plan Scusi

The ColorLife Trends program emerged in 2008, bringing together some of the most outstanding creatives from different trades. Every year architects, chefs, artists, fashion designers, and entrepreneurs, among many others, exchange perspectives on the themes and events that defined the year, bringing to the table their distinctive expertise in the use of color, and deliberating the trends that will shape the future.

the ColorLife Trends program brings together some of the most outstanding creatives from different trades | © Plan Scusi

For Comex, sharing this knowledge with users is a way to democratize color. Through this program the experience of those who use color as their raw material, from artists like Javier Marín, artisans like Remigio Mestas or people who are shaping the city like Javier Sánchez or Michel Rojkind, who celebrate their culture in design like Carla Fernández, Emiliano Godoy or Mauricio Lara, those who create extraordinary spaces and objects like Cecilia León de la Barra, Ezequiel Farca or Héctor Esrawe, and those who move the industry like Cristina Faesler, Pamela Ocampo or Claudia Cándano together with 200 other participants, passes into the hands of consumers to encourage them to experiment and seek a positive transformation in their spaces.

comex colors have no borders

The great links with the leaders of the creative industries in Mexico, in parallel have allowed Comex to be present in those events that make the country a cultural reference for design and art at an international level. Many of the collaborators of Comex’s ColorLife Trends program have important participations in events such as Zona Maco, the most important contemporary art event in Latin America, or Design Week Mexico, one of the most important spaces for the visibility of design, or Maison Diez, an initiative of excellence focused on lighting design in the interior design industry. This presence, in turn, confers a valuable value to Comex, which has allowed it to support the abundant Mexican talent as it crosses borders.

Supporting talent is an inherent part of Comex’s mission, through the ColorLife Trends University Contest, among other initiatives, it seeks to give a platform to young and unconsolidated firms. The contest seeks to encourage young people in Mexico to experiment and dare to experience the professional world, working hand in hand with creative leaders such as Laura Noriega and Nacho Cadena. Many have guided this creative discovery of students in universities, to express themselves through the colors of Comex, and give them exposure while developing professional skills.

Thanks to all its initiatives and its mission to improve the quality of life through color, Comex will continue to accompany creative development in Mexico. Comex’s commitment to always offer the best shopping experience, allows creativity to fly with the trend orientation of the experts. Likewise, the support of the PPG Group ensures the best quality products for quality and durable spaces.

‘Comex will continue to be part of the growth of Mexico, part of the spaces that receive millions of citizens of the world who come to fall in love with their culture through color, we will continue to be there, but we will also do it through continuing to evolve as a brand, having diversity, equity and inclusion as a critical factor, so that our employees and users can express themselves freely through color’. Javier Sosa