Recommended Online Resources
These online resources have been chosen because they are aligned with our 21st Century multi-disciplinary focus on colour education, are easily accessible, and mostly free from common misconceptions about colour. Note that this compilation is a work in progress, and assessment of new materials for the list is ongoing.
Also see our Top 10 Science videos about colour and our our Top 10 Picture books about colour.
Recommended for Everyone:
Westland, S. (Interview by Times Radio host Alexis Conran) Does brown exist? [Online]. Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O18J6P86MFM
University of Leeds Professor Stephen Westland debunks common colour misconceptions in this interview on Does brown exist? by Times Radio host Alexis Conran.
Kirchner, E. What does ChatGPT know about science? [Online]. Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grzNtz5eqrI&t=1s
“Sure, ChatGPT is amazing. But what does it know about science? I asked 8 simple questions about color science. The video shows that the answers are very wrong.”
Know Brainers. The truth about colour - is it even real? [Online]. Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnU8KinJCxc
Inspired by old family video footage, this short video by a sister trying to understand her brother’s limited colour vision gives a good introduction to colour perception and its variations.
Waring, Sophie. Mauve Mania. [Online]. Available from:
https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/mauve-mania/
A short article on the work of William Henry Perkin, the UK chemist whose discovery of mauvine started the synthetic dye industry.
Westland, S. Colourchat. [Online]. Available from:
Stephen Westand, a professor of colour science in the School of Design at the University of Leeds, has created a Colourchat blog which contains many illuminating entries on colour, clarifying many misconceptions about traditional teachings on colour. His ‘Colour Theory in 2 minutes’ thread houses short videos on fundamental colour concepts, explained clearly and concisely.
University of Sussex, Synaesthesia research. [Online]. Available from:
https://www.sussex.ac.uk/synaesthesia/index
“Synaesthesia is a joining together of sensations that are normally experienced separately. Studying synaesthesia may help us to understand how the brain segregates and integrates different sensations and thoughts.” Excellent site by one of the leading research teams in synaesthesia. Site includes an up to date FAQ about synaesthesia, links to talks and references, and an online test if you think you might be a synaesthete.
Recommended for Educators
Briggs, David J.C. 2007-2022. The Dimensions of Colour [Online]. Available from:
http://www.huevaluechroma.com/
Focuses on aspects of colour science most applicable to painters, beginning with the standard attributes of perceived colour. Later sections discuss light and shade, additive, subtractive and paint mixing, historical and modern hue scales, and depiction of visual appearance. Extensive references and glossary.
Briggs, David J.C. 2020. Colour Online [online]. Available from:
https://sites.google.com/site/djcbriggs/colour-online
A collection of about 500 colour-related links on topics comprising Basic Colour Attributes, The Physical Basis of Colour, Colour Vision, Light Mixing Processes, Colorants and Colorant Mixing, Colour Order Systems, Digital Colour Technology, Colour in Art and Design, History of Colour Studies, Colour Education and Further Information.
Chudler, E. Neuroscience for kids. [Online]. Available from:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
A search for ‘color’ using their search engine leads to many interesting links for classroom activities and experiments, including afterimages, synesthesia and whether the color of food impacts its taste.
Colour blind awareness. 2019. [Online]. Available from:
http://www.colourblindawareness.org/parents/
Excellent site for parents and educators. Contains “A short animation to bring to life the everyday situations faced in the classroom by children who are colour blind.” (Note: The Colour Literacy Project prefers the term limited colour vision rather than “colour blindness”, as people with this condition are not completely blind to colour, and can indeed see various colours, but with a more limited range compared to the bulk of the population.)
Colour perception illusions. [Online]. Available from:
https://www.echalk.co.uk/amusements/OpticalIllusions/colourPerception/colourPerception.html
These stunning illusions, created by R. Beau Lotto, are hosted by echalk (online resource site for teachers).
Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage (CIE), 2012-. e-ilv (online version of the International Lighting Vocabulary).
The CIE International Lighting Vocabulary, first published in 1938 and revised periodically since then, gives definitions for more than 1400 terms and is by far the most comprehensive and authoritative source on the scientific terminology of light and colour. Although previously very expensive and limited in distribution, it is now freely available online.
Douma, M., curator. 2008. Causes of Color. [Online]. Available from:
http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/
Very comprehensive overview of how light is made, moved or lost to create color. Covers topics like color in the aurora, gemstones and rainbows, as well as color vision. WebExhibits is a public service of the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA)
Fairchild, M. 2011. The Color Curiosity Shop. [Online]. Available from:
http://www.rit-mcsl.org/fairchild/WhyIsColor/
Reliable answers to many of the most commonly asked questions about colour (pdf, 254 pp). Includes a useful listing of recommended books and websites graded according to level of difficulty.
Lipscher, J. ColourLex. [Online]. Available from:
Excellent site that discusses pigments and their use in specific paintings. From website: “The idea of ColourLex is centered around the common ground between science and art. To appreciate a work of art in all its implications, one has to understand the technique of the painter and to know the materials used in its creation.”
MacEvoy, B. 2000-2020. Handprint. [Online]. Available from:
http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/wcolor.html
This is the most complete online discussion of all aspects of colour science. Good explanations and illustrations, and very good discussion of many misconceptions. Not faultless but thought-inspiring. An extremely useful reference at advanced levels.
Renoult, J.P. and Valeur. B. 2016. The Colours of Life. [Online]. Available from:
https://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/9064741/The_Colors_of_Life/
Excellent overview of the colour chemistry and chromatic functions in our natural world.
Schwarz, A. Color Literacy. 2022 [Online]. Available from:
https://dr-andreas-schwarz.de/en/index_en.html
“How do you teach color in art class? On this page you will find articles with many aspects that revolve around this central question. In addition, information is provided about the history of dealing with color and color material in art classes.” English translations from German of some of Andreas Schwarz’s excellent contributions to colour education.
Recommended for Professionals & Specialists
Maund, B., 2018. Color. (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy). [Online]. Available from:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/color/
Overview over philosophical schools/perspectives including the phenomenological one which is of importance for our approach.
Mollon, J. D. 2003. The origins of modern color science. From Shevell, S. (Ed) Color Science, Optical Society of America, Washington. [Online]. Available from:
https://winlab.rutgers.edu/~trappe/Courses/ImageVideoS06/MollonColorScience.pdf
Excellent chapter on the history of colour science after Newton.
Myers, D. 2013-16. Color of Art Pigment Database. [Online]. Available from:
http://www.artiscreation.com/Color_index_names.html
An Artist’s Paint and Pigment Reference with Color Index Names, Color Index Numbers and Chemical Composition
