Side project · Taxonomy · Web
Pigfolio
A pigment-level catalog of 2,250+ artists' oil paints, normalized by Colour Index code so painters can compare brands honestly.
- 2,250+
- paints catalogued
- 24
- paint lines
- 1 key
- Colour Index pigment code
The problem
Paint names are marketing. Two tubes called "Alizarin Crimson" can be different pigments, and two differently named tubes can be identical. Painters end up buying duplicates, or get surprised by a color that fades.
Approach
I made the Colour Index pigment code the primary key. Every paint links to the pigments it's made from, so the catalog can answer real questions: what's the same color for less, which reds are cadmium-free, which pigments fade.
- Faceted filters for color family, pigment, brand, lightfastness and opacity.
- A color map you can explore by hue and value.
- Guides for common questions: limited palettes, the Zorn palette, glazing colors.
- Structured data on every page, so search engines and AI assistants can read it.
Why it's here
It's the same job I do at work, designing a controlled vocabulary so a messy library becomes searchable. Just for oil paint.