Dunn-Edwards Portraits: Designing a Career Around Color

For years, behind all of the color advising activities for Dunn-Edwards San Fernando Valley and Ventura County stores in California was Cindy Maddex, a humble, down-to-earth visionary Cindy Maddex, a humble, down-to-earth visionary with a passion for commercial design. In 2024, Cindy was promoted to the Architectural Services Representative position in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County at Dunn-Edwards. Cindy's career trajectory led her on an unexpected journey, ultimately landing her in a dream job she never knew existed.

It all started just before her first year of high school. That summer, Cindy started working with her mother in her housekeeping business. Noticing Cindy's talent with color, one of her mother's clients, Eva, asked Cindy to help design a table setting for a dinner party. As Eva hosted larger gatherings over the next few summers, she relied on Cindy to decorate her parties and even change out the color of her rooms. In essence, Eva became her very first design client, starting when Cindy was only fifteen. "That's when I knew that I truly wanted to work in design," Cindy recalls. 

After high school, enrolling in the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles seemed like a natural progression. It was there that Cindy studied interior design and discovered the challenges and rewards of commercial design. "I fell in love with commercial design at FIDM," she remembers. "It seemed like a challenge to me back then to make an office, hospitality property, or any commercial area seem friendly. To think about how we could bring in color and also manage things like building codes, to think about the balance of form and function, while making sure a building will pass all of its permits—to me that was very interesting. I pictured myself working in a commercial field."

In Cindy's second semester at FIDM, she decided to take on a retail job to make ends meet. It was then that she became a merchandising associate at Pier 1, first in Culver City, then transferring to the Hollywood location. Although Cindy didn't know it at the time, the transfer proved to be a pivotal career move. Working in such close proximity to Paramount Pictures Studios meant that she would interface with a steady stream of production designers. "That specific location catered to a lot of studios, and their designers would come in to do staging. I would help them with their vision; pulling items off the shelves and giving second choices if something wasn't available," she recalls.

After graduation, Cindy was faced with the challenge of deciding which direction to take her career, all while juggling the enormously high cost of living in the city. She explains, "I thought, okay I'm done with school. Where do I take this now? Do I want to start with a firm, start my own business, etc.? I have the knowledge and tools, but where do I see myself in 5-10 years realistically? It took a while for me to know where I wanted to go and to find my specialty."

In the next few years, while Cindy was soul searching and trying to decide the best path forward, she remained at Pier 1, now viewing the job through a different lens. "Looking back, I think I was kind of testing the waters to see if I wanted to stay in a place with a corporate structure or take the leap and build my own business. I wanted to learn what having your own business looked like on the back end ... like how you manage it financially," she says.

She offers these words of encouragement for those just starting out or struggling on their path, "Don't second guess yourself. Express yourself and don't be scared to make mistakes. Adopt the mindset of not being afraid to fail. Mistakes happen. As long as you learn from them and keep going, it all gets better."

Ultimately, her experience consulting with studio production designers at Pier 1 and her fearless mindset led her down an unexpected new path: working as a Professional Color Advisor at the Dunn-Edwards Hollywood store. "At the time, it seemed like a good opportunity to work in both design and retail," she explains. "I didn't see it back then, but it ended up being a natural fit for my love of commercial design. At Dunn-Edwards, we'll have customers come in and they need help with a dentist's reception office or other commercial spaces. I got to be involved in color on the commercial side, without the risks of running my own business."

Specifically, when it comes to color (and music), Cindy is a big fan of Oasis (DET546). This bright and optimistic, yet soothing color encapsulates her positive outlook on life and design.

In 2017, Cindy was promoted to the role of Color Advisor Manager for the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County Dunn-Edwards stores. As a first-time manager, there was a lot for her to learn. But thanks to the culture at Dunn-Edwards, she felt supported. She explains, "To me, it feels like a family here. We lean on each other. I've never felt like I couldn't ask a question or like I was being judged. In any area where you want to develop yourself more, people are more than willing to help. There is a sense that 'we're a family and we'll grow together.'"

Every day was a unique adventure, and she got to use both her retail and design experience while making a difference in people's lives. "My favorite part of this job was helping Color Advisors grow and develop in their careers. When they send us before and after pictures, not only is it exciting for them, but it's also exciting for us. We get to see the final product and how good it looks. I really enjoy that part," she said.

Cindy's favorites from Dunn-Edwards 2025 Color Trends:

Instant Classic colors: Jazz Age Blues (DET574), Lazy Daisy (DET491), Sugar Swizzle (DEHW07), Neutral Territory (DEGR56)

Posh Party colors: Lime Twist (DEA124), After the Storm (DE5769), Razzle Dazzle (DE5027), Sugar Swizzle (DEHW07)

After 7 years in the role of Color Advisor Manager, Cindy had a calling for something new. “I wanted to jump back into the design world and the Dunn-Edwards Architectural and Designer Services team really interested me." At an event, she observed how an Architectural Services Representative "mingles with architects" and she wanted to learn more about the relationship between Dunn-Edwards and architects and designers. In the Summer of 2024, there was an opening for an Architectural Services Representative position. She was enthusiastic about the opportunity to apply her undergraduate skills and extensive work experience to a new challenge. In September 2024, Cindy accepted the promotion to be the newest member of that department at Dunn-Edwards. Her transition was made a bit smoother since she had pre-existing relationships with staff who were already like an extended family. Cindy says “I’m excited to be able to continue in an industry teaching role and educate professionals in the field. I love the interactions I get to have with my customers and building the relationships in a new way” as a Dunn-Edwards Paints employee. 

While the allure of new opportunities and fresh challenges at different organizations is undeniable, there’s something uniquely valuable about investing time and energy into one company—building deep relationships, gaining institutional knowledge, and evolving with the company’s own journey. For Cindy, staying at one company has been about embracing a career path that offers both stability and the chance to grow in meaningful ways.

To learn more about working for Dunn-Edwards, visit our careers page.