Interaction of Color App for the iPad

As a long time fan of Josef Albers I am thrilled that to mark the 50th anniversary of Josef Albers’s book Interaction of Color, Yale University Press, the publisher of the original edition, are offering a new way to engage with Albers’s lessons by releasing the “Interaction of Color” App for the iPad. This is an awesome app and a “must have” for anyone interested in fully understanding color.

For  around $10, the app bundles the book’s full text and more than 125 of its original color studies with 60+ new interactive plates that allow users to perform their own experiments with color. You can see how this works in the video below.

Along with the color palette tool there is video commentary that explains Albers’s principles.

Another nice feature is that there are interviews with the graphic designer Peter Mendelsund; the artists Brice Marden and Anoka Faruquee; the architect Annabelle Selldorf; the textile designers Denyse Schmidt and Christopher Farr; and the director of sourcing and product development of Fab.com, Brian Mullan, all of whom talk about the use of color in their professional practices; as well as Nicholas Fox Weber, the director of the Albers Foundation

Audio: Design Matters — Interaction of Color

On this episode of Design Matters, Debbie Millman talks to Brenda Danilowitz, Chief Curator at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, and Philip Tiongson, a principal at Potion, a design and technology firm specializing in interactive experiences, about Josef Alber’s book Interaction of Color. To mark the 50th anniversary of this groundbreaking book, Yale University is releasing an iPad app of the book.

The Interaction of Color mobile app for iPad helps the user understand the book’s ideas, view the plates, experiment, and create and share designs. This interactive edition of one of the most influential books on color ever written offers users an entirely new way to experience Josef Albers’s original masterwork.

The free download allows you to view Chapter X, including text, commentary, and two interactive plates, and to experiment with all the features, including the color palette tool. The full version of the app includes the complete text, over 125 color plates, over 60 interactive studies, and a wide range of video commentaries, interviews, and additional features. The full version is available as an in-app purchase.

There is also a new edition of the book so if you want a print copy as well as the app you can buy a copy of Interaction of Color 50th Anniversary Edition.

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Feature Text Credit: Kate Smith

Read Time: 3 min
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Kate Smith
Kate Smith is an optimistic, expressive, artist, designer, writer and color fanatic. With her warm and witty style, Kate teaches you to clearly see, understand and be inspired by color. Then she guides you step-by-step to develop your own unique color sense-ability and achieve results you never dreamed possible.
  • Elaine Morton says:

    😢😢 I’ve searched the App Store and cannot locate your app. A teacher recommended it but she’s had it awhile. Has it been discontinued?

    • Kate Smith says:

      Elaine, I’ve had the app for quite some time and didn’t know it was no longer available at the Apple apps store. I do see that it is available directly. Your school may even have a subscription. If not, you can purchase one.

      Here’s the link: https://interactionofcolor.com/?id=-21516

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