“Pure joy.”

That’s how a designer who took part in our recent on-site color workshop at SYPartners described the experience.

For me, the workshop instructor, hearing this is also pure joy. That’s the effect of playing with color.

For the last 18 years, I’ve been very lucky to do something I truly love—teaching people how to love color. At the School of Visual Arts, I teach color theory in my foundation classes for advertising & graphic design students. In my typography classes, I encourage students to always consider color. And I lead one-day color workshops in SVA’s Continuing Education program, called Life Beyond Black, White & Red.

And now, I’m very happy to offer on-site color workshops.

The color workshop requires 6 hours—all in one day, or divided into two 3-hour sessions. Ideally, everyone works together in the same room on shared tables. The materials we use are simple: Color-aid paper, mounting boards, scissors and glue.

The color workshops have been a great success. The experience itself is positive—just the act of sorting colors is therapeutic. The lessons learned through hands-on color exercises are engaging, memorable, and useful in profession practice. The take-away is an intense awareness of how we actually perceive color.