Colour Literacy Forum
The Colour Literacy Forum is a virtual platform featuring presentations and interactive conversations focused on updating and expanding 21st century post-secondary colour education. The goal of this global collaboration is to develop an interdisciplinary model, encompassing the sciences, arts, design and humanities, positioning colour as a Meta-discipline and aligning colour education with current needs in the culture.
We aim to provide cutting-edge resources based on current, peer-reviewed information, and offer dynamic networking opportunities for all stakeholders
2025 Series: Fact & Myths about Colour
This series will delve into widespread misconceptions about colour found in textbooks—including those from prestigious publishers—as well as in scientific and popular articles, magazines, and the Internet. While the Colour Literacy Project has previously addressed some of these myths, this 2025 series will take a deeper dive, with insights from experts across various disciplines. The discussions will cover several key topics: Forum 11 will address the limitations of traditional colour theory, exploring how outdated models continue to shape education, their shortcomings in the classroom, and why a new approach is needed. Forum 12 will focus on misconceptions about colour attributes, harmony, and meaning, addressing why a simple colour wheel is insufficient for describing colour relationships, how the hue paradigm falls short, and the complexities of colour symbolism and its psychological effects. Forum 13 will be about the myth of colour mixing—why the idea that colours can be “mixed” in a straightforward way is misleading and how comparative mixing provides a more accurate perspective. Finally, Forum 14 will challenge the perception of colour as merely an aesthetic addition, instead highlighting its deeper communicative, functional, and psychological roles.
Connect - Innovate - Educate
Colour literacy forum dates & topics
Click on talk titles for more information. Recordings of past forums are available on our Youtube Channel.
Colour Misconceptions and their Impact in the Classroom
FORUM 11: Saturday March 1, 11:00am-12:30pm EST
With: Robert Hirschler & Andreas Schwartz
The Cultural Palette: Colour’s Role in Identity, Gender and Society
FORUM 10: December 6 2024, 11am ET
With: Alexandra Loske (author, Colour - A Visual History); Carolyn Purnell (author, Blue Jeans) and Dominique Grisard (University of Basel, author Gendering Terror)
Colour Through Time: Histories, Meanings, Practices
FORUM 9: November 9, 2024
With: Patrick Baty (author, The Anatomy of Colour; Nature's Palette); Spike Bucklow (author, The Alchemy of Paint) and Judith Mottram (Lancaster University, UK).
The Interaction of Colour and Light
FORUM 8: June 13, 2024
With David Briggs (Colour Society of Australia), Silvia Pont (Delft University of Technology) and Kine Angelo (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Colour in Context
FORUM 7: March 22, 2024
With Harald Arnkil (Visual artist, Colour researcher & Author Colours in the Visual World) and Valtteri Arstila (Professor of Theoretical Philosophy, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Philosophy, University of Turku)
The Evolution of Colour Vision
FORUM 6: September 29, 2023
With Andrew Parker (University of Oxford), Jay Neitz (University of Washington) and Kimberly A. Jameson (University of California, Irvine)
Colour & the Perceiver
FORUM 5: June 15, 2023
With: Ming Ronnier Luo (College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University); Maria Olkkonen (Principal Colour Scientist, Microsoft); and Bill Fischer (Digital Art & Design program at Kendall College of Art and Design)
Colour & Materials: Past, Present, Future
FORUM 4: March 31, 2023
With Carolyn E. Boyd (Texas State University), José Luis Caivano (Buenos Aires University), and Noora Yau & Konrad Klockars (Aalto University)
Teaching Colour Online: 3 Perspectives from the Arts & Sciences
FORUM 2: September 30, 2022
With David Briggs (Colour Society of Australia), Saara Pyykkö (Aalto University) & Robin Kingsburgh (York University)
State of the Art: Colour Teaching in Design Education
FORUM 1: April 22, 2022
With Ingrid Calvo Ivanovic (University of Milan)
FORUM PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Inter-Society Colour Council (ISCC) is the principal professional society in the field of color in the United States and the US member organization of the AIC.
Cumulus is the leading global association of art and design education, representing a dynamic ecosystem for knowledge exchange and collaboration in art and design pedagogy, research, and practice.
The International Colour Association (AIC, Association Internationale de la Couleur) is composed of national colour organizations and members representing over 30 countries. Founded June 21, 1967, in Washington DC, USA, the AIC aims are to encourage research in all aspects of colour, to disseminate the knowledge gained from this research, and to promote its application to the solution of problems in the fields of science, art, design and industry on an international basis.
The Study Group for Colour Education (SGCE) of the AIC is an international network of scientists, teachers within the field of colour, and other professionals with a specific interest in colour education. Aims: exchange of knowledge and experiences among its members; stimulation of teaching and research; to inform about coming congresses, seminars, workshops and exhibitions which might be of interest; to share news from congresses, seminars, workshops, publications and exhibitions.
