Top Picks
A short list of online resources for teachers of all levels, designed to expand your approach to teaching colour within the framework of the CLP. Our ‘Top Picks’ look at colour from multiple perspectives, and align with our philosophy of framing colour as a meta-discipline.
Introduction to colour
Westland, S. Colourchat.
-
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.
Douma, M., curator. 2008. Causes of Color.
-
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.
-
Reliable answers to many of the most commonly asked questions about colour (pdf, version available 254 pp). Includes a useful listing of recommended books and websites graded according to level of difficulty.
Colour Perception
Colour blind awareness. 2019.
-
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.)
VIDEO: Know Brainers. 2022. The truth about colour - is it even real?
-
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.
VIDEO: Hansen, Calder, 2016. The Science of Colour Perception.
-
Reasonable introduction to the complexities of colour perception. Some simplifications in the video may lead to misconceptions (e.g. visualizations show light with a single wavelength activating a colour perception, rather than light with a a range of wavelengths; and no information on opponency is given). However the video does a better job than most in introducing various factors involved in colour perception.
Science
VIDEO. NASA. 2010. The Electromagnetic Spectrum.
-
Excellent introduction an overview of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Language
VIDEO. Vox. 2017. The surprising pattern of color names around the world.
-
Excellent introduction to colour names in various languages, and a good discussion on Berlin and Kay’s anthropological research on basic colour terms, as well as how their subsequent work responded to criticism. Video conveys a good sense of the complexities involved in studying colour terms across languages.
