History

1931

From Montana to Berkeley

The Switzer family relocated from Montana to Berkeley, California, in 1931 after investing in their family owned pharmacy. Bob Switzer began attending the University of California as a pre-med student, while his brother, Joe Switzer found a passion in creating amateur magic shows.

1933

Dark Times That Led to a Bright Future

Bob Switzer spent the summer working at a tomato quality control laboratory until an accident occurred. He spent the next few months in a darkened room to let his eyesight recover, which led him and his brother, Joe, to explore fluorescence.

1934

Tricks and Magic

Joe Switzer performed a magic trick using his black light solution and a Balinese dancer, making it appear that her head had detach from her body. This trick won him an award at the magicians’ convention.

1934

Brothers Working Together

The Switzer Brothers founded the Fluor-S-Art Co. to continue to develop their paints for advertising displays.

1935

The Happy Accident

After dipping silk fabric into a combination of alcohol and fluorescent dye, by complete accident, the Switzer brothers discovered the secret to daylight fluorescents. With their new discovery they hit the road and relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. There they earned a living by selling colors for fluorescent posters.

1936

Cross Country Adventures

Bob and Joe left California and moved their company across the country to Cleveland, Ohio, to partner with Continental Lithograph, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Pictures.

1938

Growing Family

The Switzer brothers continued to break ground in the chemical industry with their inventions of Zyglo and Magnaglo, two flaw-detection fluorescent dyes.

1940

DayGlo Warfare

World War II demanded many uses for DayGlo colors, including painting military aircrafts and supplying troops with fluorescent fabrics to ensure visibility and safety.

1946

Moving Out On Their Own

The Switzer Brothers ended their agreement with Continental Lithograph and founded Switzer Brothers, Inc. (now known as Day-Glo Color Corp.)

1947

Black Light Displays

1949

Fluorescent Silk Screen

1949

Attention Grabbing Advertising

More and more advertisers begin to demand the use of fluorescent colors in their displays to grab more customers’ attention.

1950

Fluorescent Meets Fashion

DayGlo fluorescent clothing began to take over the fashion world becoming the newest trend.

1951

National News

1953

Making The World Glow

1959

Packaging Turns DayGlo

DayGlo daylight fluorescent pigments become the standard of packaging in consumer products from its eye grabbing and lasting impression.

1960

Standard of Safety

DayGlo Fire Orange™ becomes the standard of safety in aviation by increasing visibility on aircrafts.

1964

The DayGlo Mobile

1966

Inside The Factory

Inside look at the DayGlo factory as featured in the Goodyear Chemical Review: Number 1 of 1966.

1967

Psychedelic Recordings

Records began to tune in to fluorescent colors for psychedelic, attention grabbing results.

1969

Becoming DayGlo Color Corp.

Switzer Brother, Inc. officially changed its company’s name to the iconic DayGlo Color Corp. that is known now.

1970

Colorful Minds

Big named brands begin including DayGlo colors into their traditional product lines to accommodate for customer demand for brighter and trendier options.

1971

Breakthrough Inventions

DayGlo continues to push forward in research and development by inventing new and improved products for specific market segments. DayGlo announces a major breakthrough with Z series pigments.

1980

Let's Get Physical

DayGlo aerobics apparel colors the 80s with bright, neon activewear and leotards. Celebrities like Olivia Newton John and Jane Fonda help push this trend into the spotlight.

1985

Announcing Acquisitions

The Nalco Chemical Company of Oak Brook purchased DayGlo Color in September of 1985.

1991

Joining RPM

RPM International Inc. acquires DayGlo Color Corp. from Nalco Chemical Company.

2009

Tale of Two Brothers

The DayGlo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris Barton tells the story of the brains of two brothers and how DayGlo came to be.

2012

Award Winning Innovations

The development of DayGlo fluorescent pigments was recognized by the American Chemical Society as a National Historic Chemical Landmark.

2017

ZOKU RUNNER ULTK DAYGLO

DayGlo Color and Reebok partner to release the ZOKU RUNNER ULTK DAY-GLO in three original DayGlo colors: Aurora Pink®, Blaze Orange™, and Saturn Yellow®. The shoe features the new DayGlo Ezentus™ “EZ” formaldehyde-free pigment.

2019

Introducing Elara™ Cosmetic Colorants

Elara™ is the 2nd generation of legal fluorescent color for cosmetic use. It's BPA free, cruelty free, and has improved lightfastness. Find out more about Elara here.

2022

The Color Burst

DayGlo rebrands and makes their new icon the "Color Burst", representing the science behind fluorescent color. This unique logo showcases how fluorescent color works - color going from the grounded state to the excited state to the released state.