The development of a stress-responsive colorimetric film that can memorize the stress it has experienced is disclosed. The system can use the plasmonic shift associated with the disassembly of one-dimensional plasmonic nanoparticle chains driven by the plastic deformation of the surrounding polymer matrix. By modifying the plasticity of the polymer, the plasmonic shift and colorimetric change can respond to a large range of stresses. The pressure indicating film can be used to capture and record the pressure distribution and magnitude between two contacting or impacting surfaces by outputting color information.