This course is a total immersion in the understanding and usage of color. Students analyze the cultural, social and psychological implications of color in everyday life. Our perceptions of color and our understanding of it through particular brain processes are addressed through physics and perceptual exercises. Color interactions (including Relativity, the Illusion of Transparency, the Bezold Effect, Redistribution and Contrasts of Extension, Clash, Vibration and Spread) are thoroughly studied through a series of projects culminating in a final that focuses on the use of color in each student’s specific discipline. Critical theory is addressed in readings. Design & Science: This course explores the use of color in conveying scientific information in sustainability, energy and environment; understanding the logic of color to make data more easily understood and communicated; and designing for the scientific, business and the research community. Culture: This course will explore human belief, ritual and behavior through the use of color. Throughout human history, color has played an important role in communicating the values of our societies. From the blood of the hunt to The Scarlet Letter to Communism to Barbie, color affects how we interpret the world and our place within it. Through various design exercises and projects, students will examine the symbolic significance and psychological impact of color in art, design and visual culture across the globe, from early civilizations to the present day.

This course is a total immersion in the understanding and usage of color. Students analyze the cultural, social and psychological implications of color in everyday life. Our perceptions of color and our understanding of it through particular brain processes are addressed through physics and perceptual exercises. Color interactions (including Relativity, the Illusion of Transparency, the Bezold Effect, Redistribution and Contrasts of Extension, Clash, Vibration and Spread) are thoroughly studied through a series of projects culminating in a final that focuses on the use of color in each student’s specific discipline. Critical theory is addressed in readings.