Stan Austin wrote:I always thought that the Green barn was primarily a big utility shed with a nameplate on it. All of a sudden it's iconic. Isn't it interesting that even though the red isn't a traditional "barn red" that some tints ? yellow? orange? just juked it up just right.
Stan
Not sure what it was, but damn is that a wild red. Hard to capture just how bright it is.
Years ago, McLaren Formula One team (which has a Lakewood connection*) looked all over for a red to represent their sponsor McLaren. When they got it right in person, it was never right on TV or in photos. Finally after years of looking they ended up coming to Cleveland and worked with DayGlo, on a proper color, that looked a little pinkish/orangish in different light but always photographed perfectly. It was also perfect on TV, which they figured was a more important and larger fan base than in person. They would order it by the 30 barrel shipments keeping it in stock over in the UK. The color today is known as McLaren Red, and you cannot purchase it from DayGlo. Ferrari F1 went through s similar plight when Marlboro moved their sponsorship to them, and DayGlo again mixed a new color slightly more orange than McLaren Red. Ferrai has been so happy with the results they still use it without having Marlboro sponsorship since tobacco sponsorship was banned in international sports.

The McLaren MP4 driven here by World Champion Ayrton Senna (photo by Jim O'Bryan)
Funny side story I have not boosted the red in any photos but I have boosted the green in the one photo, so they do not appear as black. Which brings me to BP America working for years to find the right green that could photograph correctly. A couple Lakewoodites worked on that problem. Eventually the only proper green for printing came from Raven Ink in Glasgow, Scotland, and hundreds of barrels were housed in the BP warehouse in South Carolina for printing jobs. Eventually BP relaxed the exact color to save on many costs. But kept it for photo ids, as it was nearly impossible to fake.
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