Colour Design Course

4 day intensive and inspirational course presenting colour from a new perspective.

The four-day English course on colour will provide participants with an opportunity to gain a more in-depth understanding of this fascinating subject and enhance their confidence in using colour effectively.

The instructional approach to the course is characterized by a combination of engaging and stimulating lectures and hands-on, creative exploration. 

The content of each day will vary from inspirational lectures to creative workshops, where theory will be tested through practical application. Every part of this course will build on the previous part to enhance the knowledge of the participants, so they can design their own proposals with confidence.

What you will learn in 4 days

SCHEDULE PER DAY

March 21^TH 2024

Meet & Greet

Meeting point is at 19h at the KMSKA-museum in Antwerp. During the tour, you will start with analysing and measuring colour. This voluntary workshop and tour are free of charge, you only buy your museum ticket.

March 22^TH 2024

THEME: COLOUR PERCEPTION & COLOUR COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION:

The Complexity of Colour Communication

Communication is one of the hardest things between people, resulting in numerous misunderstandings.

Communicating colour is even more difficult because of the way we see and interpret colours. When we speak of colours, what do we mean? Are we talking about colour mixing or colour perception?

LECTURE & PRACTICE:

Our Need for Colour

Design without colour is impossible, and do we actually know what exactly colour is? What different modes of appearance do we see? Through practical colour exercises, you discover if you may have defective colour vision.

LECTURE & PRACTICE:

Different Colour Systems – Different needs

A brief introduction to different colour systems, what is their language and structure and how to apply them. When you mention hues and nuances, what do you mean? There are differences and similarities between colours; once you know them, it is easy to apply them in a design.

Lunch

THEME:  COLOUR MEANING, ASSOCIATION & SYMBOLISM

LECTURE & PRACTICE:

What colours signify

Colour is such a common component of our existence that we do not give it any thought. However, colour is visual information and, as such, arouses feelings, thoughts, and associations and makes us react.

But is it really individual colours, that we react to, and associate things with? Colours hardly ever occur singly, they are nearly always combined.

And how about the reaction to colour on an individual level, such as gender, age, background, and personality? Not to mention situational factors like mood, tiredness and so on. All aspects of the meaning an individual gives to the significance of colour.

Colours are strongly connected to human emotions, but can one say that one single colour has an effect on human behaviour? In this context, the perception of one colour can never be seen as a single entity and is always subject to interaction with other colours.

During this practice, you experience what emotions are provoked by using the same colour in different compositions.

Dinner

EVENING WORKSHOP: Free of charge for participants of this course

Synaesthesia

How do smell and sound affect the colour choices you make? In this voluntary workshop you can discover what it does to your senses.

Synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Synaesthesia can occur between nearly any two senses or perceptual modes, but also between more senses than two.

Did you know that there are 80 different types of Synaesthesia?

In this workshop, you will explore forms of associative synaesthesia: feeling a very strong and involuntary connection between the stimulus and the sense that it triggers. You will learn about two:

• Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synaesthesia. A common form of synaesthesia is the association of sounds with colours. For some, everyday sounds can trigger seeing colours. For others, colours are triggered when musical notes or keys are played. Which effect this has on you, you can discover in this workshop.
• The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odours) are perceived. The purpose of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. Discover in this workshop how it triggers your choice of colour in relation to different smells.

March 23^TH 2024

THEME: CHANGEABILITY OF COLOUR IMPRESSIONS

LECTURE & PRACTICE:

Different Factors to Consider in the Design Process

When designing, colour is not a solo entity, but is always influenced by the interaction of other colours.

Are the colour in the environment and the colour seen, the same?

Different factors affect the perceived colour.

Chosen colour, viewing distance, size & form, surroundings colours, viewing angle, matt & gloss, texture, reflections, shadow & shimmer, colour, light & space, and colour memory.

THEME: COLOUR COMMUNICATION IN PRACTICE

LECTURE & PRACTICE:

Colour analysis

When you see colours, how would you describe these colours and determine the differences? In this part of the course, you will learn how to determine colour differences.

Lunch

LECTURE & WORKSHOP:

Colour areas & categories

Different colour areas are used for different purposes, and you will explore the similarities and relationships between colours and the distribution of a colour selection. The nuance of the composition of the colours is reflected in their composition.

THEME: COLOUR COMBINATION PRINCIPLES

LECTURE & Practice:

Colour Harmonies

When colour harmony is mentioned, what is meant by harmonic colour combinations? What makes a balanced colour harmony? Are there principles you can follow? And how do colour scales, lightness, and contrast influence interior and graphic design?

Free evening

March 24^TH 2024

THEME: COLOUR SIMILARITIES

LECTURE & WORKSHOP:

Colour Similarities

A colour system does not necessarily give pretty colour combinations, but it does provide a tool for experimenting with different colour harmonies. This is what we are doing in this workshop “Colour Similarities”.

Lunch

THEME: COLOUR DESIGN PROPOSAL    

Introduction to your colour design project

Start of your Colour Design Proposal with feedback

In this part of the course, you will put everything you learned into a design proposal. This can be a project you are working on or a new project. If you do not have one, you will get a design proposal from us.

Your design project can be for:

• Interior
• Exterior
• Fashion
• Product
• Brand building
• Marketing

Dinner

EVENING WORKSHOP:

Working on your Design proposal (voluntary)

March 25^TH 2024

THEME: A COLOUR DESIGN PROPOSAL

Designing on your project

Lunch

Presentation of your Design proposal and feedback

Your design proposal will be of a standard that can be used in your professional context.

CONCLUSIONS: 

• Highlights from the workshop. Which are the keywords?
• Discussions and questions

The time schedules may fluctuate in time, but all the points listed above are being taught.

This Course is for you

Are you a professional who works with colour and wants to deepen and expand your colour communication skills? Then this course is for you. The course will develop your ability to see and work with colour.

You will work hands-on with various colour projects and exercises to make it easier to connect to colour design in practice.

This course is for everyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of Colour:

• Designers—Graphic, Fashion, Product
• Interior Architects
• Interior Stylist
• Professionals colour advisers
• Professionals in marketing

Included in the Colour Design Course

Your investment

Your investment for this in- and extensive 4-day Design Course is 1977 euros*.

Why Invest in this Course

Because it is an investment in yourself.

And you learn:

• how to make a colour scheme with confidence
• how to expand your knowledge of colour design
• ways to create new ideas for combining colours
• to explore the colour areas and how to use them to create different emotions.
• how to use the basic colour design principles, which change the colour depending on its surroundings, light, material, and form.
• to understand colour from multiple perspectives that can help you develop your colour design

And most of all, you will deepen your knowledge of colours in a way that choosing colours for your project will feel like second nature to you.

Requirements

What is not included

• *VAT
• Overnight stay
• Museum ticket

Registration for the Course

For more information or registration

email to: info@colourprofessionals.eu

Teachers Colour Design Course

Berit Bergström, Berit Colour Talks

Biography: Berit Bergström is a Colour Specialist & Educator in colour theory and colour schemes working in her own business, Berit ColourTalks, since 2016. She was employed by NCS Colour AB from 1990 to 2016. She was the Managing Director for NCS Colour Academy between 1991 and 2012. Furthermore, she has long experience in giving international colour design courses and presentations and has conducted colour studies at university level worldwide for more than 30 years.

This has newly resulted in her new book, “Colour Choices. A Practitioner’s Guide to designing colour schemes” in both English and Swedish. She was the secretary of the Colour Science Foundation (1991-1997) and was responsible for granting funding for different colour research projects within the field of colour. She is the secretary of the Swedish Colour Centre Foundation since 1991. She was a member of the AIC Executive Committee between 2006 – 2021. She was the President of AIC 2010 to 2013 and the chairperson of the AIC Study Group on Colour Education between 1998 and 2009.

Jeannette Hanenburg, ColourProfessionals

Jeannette Hanenburg  is founder of the ColourProfessionals institute in Antwerp. A training centre for colour specialists, with a diverse offer of courses and training in the field of colour. She believes that real understanding of colour can only be achieved by experiencing the interactions of colour and that it involves a life long learning. Jeannette is a member of the scientific international organization AIC-color and member of 3 international study groups on Color Education, Environmental Color Design and  The Language of Colour. She is Co-founder of the Belgian Association ICA Belgium.