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Here is one way to view the problem:

But wait! There are seven more:

                                                          A                                      B                                    C

                  D                                      E                                      F                                     G

Just for fun, let’s find the areas (i.e. number of black and white squares in the colored squares) in A, B, C, D, E, F, and G above.

Notice that in each of the seven pictures, there are four right triangles that are not colored. We find their areas and subtract each of those numbers from 64 to get the areas of the colored squares.

In A, each of the four is one unit high and seven units wide, and so it has area 3.5 squares. Since there are 4 of them, their total area is 14 squares. So the area of the colored inner square is 64 – 14 = 50 squares.

In B, each of the four is two units high and six units wide, with area 6 squares. Since there are 4 of them, their total area is 24 squares. So the area of the colored inner square is 64 – 24 = 40 squares.

In C, each of the four is three units high and five units wide, with area 7.5 squares. Since there are 4 of them, their total area is 30 squares. So the area of the colored inner square is 64 – 30 = 34 squares.

In D, each of the four is four units high and four units wide, with area 8 squares. Since there are 4 of them, their total area is 32 squares. So the area of the colored inner square is 64 – 32 = 32 squares.

E is like C (34 squares), F is like B (40 squares), and G is like A (50 squares).

So there are 100 + 80 + 68 + 32 = 280 small blue squares total in the seven drawings.