Vishion Is a New Color-Search Tool That Sources Product by Hue

The resulting app Smith built, with the input of interior designers, lets users choose hues—Pantone, Sherwin-Williams, and color values (RGB and hex), or simply colors from an image they upload themselves—to identify some one million products from brands like Kravet, Mitchell Black, and Industry West. Input a color, then browse categories of product—furniture, decor and art, fabrics, paint, rugs, bedding, bath, kitchen, lighting, building supplies, and others—available in that color. Users can also create mood boards, and share images with clients and staff. “When we considered how a color search engine could help our users, we thought about how interior design projects come together from beginning to end,” says Smith.

Dani Arps, a New York designer, serves as an adviser to Vishion. “As an adviser, I made it known that the best direction is to be sure the app is a supplement to a design process that already works but could work faster and better,” she tells AD PRO.

“It’s helpful because I can take an inspiration image and quickly pull together a few color palettes that coordinate directly with Pantone colors, which then turns into a tangible item that I can see in person.”

There’s been talk that the app bears similarities to Houzz, which had been under fire for its tagging and use of designers’ uploaded project photos to promote product. (Houzz notes that tagging is voluntary, and on the part of designers.) Is the comparison an accurate one? Not necessarily. “I think it’s fair to say we listened and took note of the complaints some designers had about Houzz as we built Vishion,” explains Smith. “One concern we heard was about control and ownership of images shared through our platform. Vishion ensures every user will maintain control over their own images and we will only use an image shared on our app when we have permission directly from the owner.”

Illinois-based designer Tiffany Brooks cites the ability to create and share color stories with her staff in between flights to project sites in other parts of the country as a particularly useful feature. “Having the ability to pick up my phone and find a color I’m thinking of is key, especially when I’m not in my studio,” she tells AD PRO. “My team and I are often in the field, and need access to tools.” And designer Michelle Workman, an early adopter, recently used the app to source accessories for a project based on a prominent fabric used in the design; she said the app spared her a number of hours.

“It saves me time, that oh-so-valuable commodity,” she tells AD PRO.

“I do bill hourly—but I have enough client hours to bill and not enough time for other things, so being able to source faster is invaluable.”