comex 'creative archive': documenting mexico's material culture

A multidisciplinary analysis for all creative industries

Since its beginnings, Comex has been committed to filling Mexico with color with its coatings, as well as accompanying the creative industries with the annual ColorLife TRENDS forecast. The company recognizes that ‘The simple act of choosing a color has an intention. Color has the power and quality to alert, to heal, to communicate, to persuade, to seduce, but, above all, to inspire…’, in the words of Liz Galván, director of the ColorLife TRENDS program. So on March 21, World Color Day, Comex carried their color from the wall to the object with the presentation of Creative Archive, a visual compendium of those colors, textures, and materials that make up the trends, and that will inspire anyone who is part of a creative activity.

ColorLife TRENDS has become a tool in the agenda of the creative process in different disciplines, and color has evolved as a strategic tool for innovation. The program has worked with nearly 300 creatives from diverse industries to analyze trends and inspire people with the color of the year. However, Archivo Creativo seeks to go further by recognizing the material culture involved in the choice and immortalizing it through this documentation project.

At the same time, the edition is a tribute and acknowledgement to all the creative disciplines that today are part of the Comex family.

images cortesy of ColorLife TRENDS

A new narrative of color, its forms and textures

The Comex Creative Archive was born from the notion that year after year different elements are part of the forecast, but not all of them are expressed through a color chip. It is not only the choice of a hue that encompasses the year, but the recognition of important events, sustainable practices and cultural phenomena that influence creative practices. Such as ‘Ardiente’, the color of the year 2024, whose choice is linked to a period in Mexico where contemporary design and architecture reflect a new appreciation for artisanal finishes and ancestral techniques.

This special edition of ColorLife TRENDS is made up of 60 multidisciplinary projects, compiled as an objective record that shows where material culture is heading in Mexico, and that will eventually seek to generate an archive of the creative industries. This first Creative Archive shows the 2023 and 2024 trends along with a selection of projects that accompany the palettes. These not only respond to the colors, but to a material narrative that is explained at key points. In this way the edition manages to tangibly express some of the questions that arise during the color of the year selection process – what does the trend look like as applied to different industries, or how does it feel?

Archivo Creativo is a visual compendium of those colors, textures, and materials that make up the trends

Creative Archive’s projects respond not to a material narrative, but to a material narrative.

Comex’s ColorLife TRENDS program’s main objective is to provide tools for everyone to use color to beautify their spaces, as well as support the growth of the creative industries. Like all ColorLife TRENDS materials , such as the Trends 2024 Book and the Color Chart, Archivo Creativo is made available to all Comex users digitally (more here) and for consultation at its Concept Stores. Additionally, the edition will be distributed in some of the most important design universities in the country such as UNAM, CENTRO and IBERO, as well as with cultural allies such as Lago Algo.