About

Color Design Resources

Our mission is to disseminate  evidence-based color design resources and make a positive difference in our community by supporting color activations and interventions, color-related events, workshops and color awards. 

We focus on information about color theory, research and application, and we have links with the International Colour Association (AIC) and the Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC). Color Design Resources was initially founded in 2017 as the Color Collective by Zena O’Connor PhD, Naomi Shaw, Jonathan Watcham, Melissa Ward, Geoffrey Gifford. 

Email: zena@zenaoconnor.com.au

Image credit: Geoffrey Gifford visualization featuring Warming Stripes illustrating temperature change for NSW 1910-2010 (used with approval from Prof Ed Hawkins, University of Reading).

News & Resources

Award-winning Community Project

Today is the 6th anniversary of our award-winning community project, which was timed to coincide with Vivid Sydney 2017. The project featured saturated colors in a simple pattern that mimicked the brightly-colored yacht sails on Sydney Harbour.

Research indicates that…

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Online Webinar - Healthcare and Aged Care

This online webinar for architects, designers, and colour specifiers was hosted by the Aged Care Industry Association and featured evidence-based information.

Effective colour design in healthcare, aged care and dementia care has moved beyond aesthetics. In these contexts, evidence-based colour…

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Color notation: Early charts and systems

Identifying, communicating, and managing color has often been problematic. Modern color notation systems have addressed most issues with identifying, communicating, and managing color across different applications but this was not always the case. 

While there are distinct differences, early color…

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Colour Psychology Workshop

Colour Psychology workshop - the next session in our schedule of in-person colour workshops.

Colour has the capacity to influence human response. This interactive Colour Psychology workshop helps you to sort fact from fiction, and gives you evidence-based knowledge about…

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Colour Fundamentals Workshop

We're excited to offer the first in our schedule of in-person colour workshops again!  

Our 3-hour interactive workshops blend practical exercises with evidence-based content in an accessible, informative, and fun way. You’ll leave each session armed with invaluable insight and…

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Online Seminar

We're excited to present this CPD seminar in conjunction with the Aged Care Industry Association. 

Thursday 16 June - 1:30 to 3:30pm Eastern Standard Time (1:00-3:00pm South Australia and 11:30-1:30pm Western Australia) 

3 Formal CPD points for architects and designers…

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Colour Psychology Workshop

Now that the pandemic is almost over and restrictions have lifted, we're excited to present this Colour Psychology Workshop at the Queens Club in Sydney at 10:30am on 2 June. So, if you're a member or if you know a…

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AIC Newsletter - December 2021

The December 2021 issue of the AIC Newsletter featured our sponsorship of the 2021 Enmore Design Centre Graduate Colour Awards. This sponsorship represents our ongoing commitment to providing meaningful awards to encourage the use of colour. The Colour Collective Sydney…

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Colour Awards Sponsor

The Colour Collective Sydney are proud sponsors of four Colour Awards at the Design Centre Enmore Graduate Event 2021. The DCE Graduate Awards night occurred on Wednesday December 1, 2021 and each of the four Colour Award winners received a…

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Colour in the Built Environment Conference

We're excited about this conference on colour in the built environment hosted by the Oslo Planning Dept., Norway. To be held 9:00am to 2:30pm, December 1, 2021, the conference is open and free for all to register. One of our…

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New articles on colour

2021 has been a bumper year for new peer-reviewed articles on colour theory and colour application. The Meeting Report of the Study Group on Environmental Colour Design of the International Colour Association conference AIC2021 has just been published in Color…

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Encyclopedia - Updated!

The updated 2021 edition of Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology has been published! This is an excellent resource for those interested in colour across all its manifestations as well as colour theory and colour application. We are chuffed that…

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Stay in touch...

Join our mailing list for the latest news or email zena@zenaoconnor.com.au

Events, Webinars & Workshops

Previous events

Date Event Location
 —  — Color Design - Aged Care and Dementia Care ACIA - Online webinar ACIA - Online webinar
 —  — Color Design - Aged Care and Dementia Care ACIA - Online webinar ACIA - Online webinar
 —  — Color Psychology CPD Session Orana Studio, Sydney Orana Studio, Sydney
Color Fundamentals Workshop Orana Studio, Sydney Orana Studio, Sydney
Color in the Built Environment - Lecture Online lecture (Oslo Norway) Online lecture (Oslo Norway)
 —  — Color Psychology CPD Session Work Inc, Lavender Bay Work Inc, Lavender Bay
StoryVoice CPD Workshop for Architects & Designers Work Inc, Lavender Bay Work Inc, Lavender Bay
 —  — Perceived vs. Specified Colour Resene CPD webinar Resene CPD webinar
 —  — Demystifying Colour - CPD session Online webinar Online webinar
Demystifying Colour - CPD session Online webinar Online webinar
Demystifying Colour - CPD webinar Online webinar Online webinar
 —  — Colour Apps + Tools CPD Session Work Inc, Lavender Bay Work Inc, Lavender Bay
 —  — Effective Colour Design for Aged Care & Healthcare CPD Session Online webinar Online webinar
Demystifying Colour - CPD webinar Online webinar Online webinar
Demystifying Colour - CPD webinar Online webinar Online webinar
Demystifying Colour: Making sense of different colour models & systems Resene CPD Webinar Resene CPD Webinar
 —  — Colour Apps + Tools Workshop Online webinar Online webinar
 —  — Colour Fundamentals Workshop Webinar Webinar
 —  — Colour Psychology Webinar Webinar
Marketing for Architects, Designers + Building Professionals CPD Webinar CPD Webinar