My Story: From "No Color Theory!" to "Know Color Theory!"

While I have always loved color, I have not always loved color theory, nor did I see a need for it. As a kid, everyone loved the colors I put together. The compliments continued to pour in through my teen years. By the time I set off for university to study design, I had no interest in color theory.

I remember the first day of my very first design class. I was ready to create something amazing and couldn't wait to get started. Then the instructor arrived, and within the first few minutes, I discover that the Color and Design course was just another name for Color Theory class. My heart sank.

The curriculum required me to study color theory two times each week for 15 weeks plus spend countless hours outside of class, completing the assignments, and this was only the first of four courses. It was not what I had in mind at all.

I missed the first part of the lecture because all I could hear in my head was my voice repeatedly whining, "No color theory!"

Finally, with no other option, I shut off the internal dialogue and reluctantly turned my attention to the instructor. I want to say I was immediately captivated, but I wasn't. It took several more classes, but once we started working on the interaction of colors, I gradually got interested in learning more about color theory.

Color Theory Reconsidered

For many weeks, my classmates and I worked our way through the exercises in the Josef Albers Interaction of Color book. The assignments weren't easy, and most took quite a bit of time to complete. There were many nights when all I could see were dots in front of my eyes from staring at tiny pieces of Color-aid paper for hours on end. But with each activity, I learn more and more about combining colors.

I discovered that every color is like a chameleon that changes based on its surroundings. It can trick us because the same color can look different depending on what colors are around it. By the end of my first semester, I understood what Josef Albers meant when he said, "Color class prepares us to be fooled." I had already been deceived by color many times that semester.

Albers goal in developing his teaching method outlined in the Interactions of Color was "to open eyes" to seeing color, and with me, he achieved that goal. He also opened my mind to the benefits of learning color theory. By the time I begin my second semester, I had gone from whining, "No color theory," to enthusiastically saying, "Know color theory!"

I am still fascinated by the magical ability color has to deceive and delight us with each new design. And, with years of professional experience behind me, today I am even more emphatic when I say, "Know color theory!"

I say that, however, with one caveat. When it comes to using colors, you don't need to know anything about color theory to produce good results. In the end, what matters is that you or whoever you are doing the work for is pleased. Understanding color theory is just one more tool you can use to expand the way you look at and think about color.

Now I want to help you form a base of color knowledge and know-how, too. Let's begin with just what I think you need to know about color theory to noticeably up your color game starting today. Then once you understand the basic principles, there is no end to the ways you can observe and experiment with the concepts.