Research Guides: Color and Color Theory: Welcome

Pantone's Color of the Years

Color and Color Theory

The West Valley College Library’s Color and Color Theory Research Guide offers a curated selection of library books, database articles, and freely available web resources. This guide supports exploration of how color functions in art, design, psychology, and culture, and provides a foundation for both academic research and creative practice. It is intended as a starting point for learning and discovery and will continue to grow as new resources become available. This is a living document and not an exhaustive list of materials on this topic.

West Valley College Library Books

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Color : a visual history from Newton to modern color matching guides

Colour : how we see it and how we use it

Color Theory 101 : Essential Guide to Color Relationships, Symbolism, and Mixing for Artists.

Web Resources

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Munsell Color System
(About) "Munsell Color continues the legacy of Albert H. Munsell and his dedication to helping people communicate color easily and accurately. Our aim is to provide you with effective color tools, tips, and techniques based on Munsell color theory. We’re your resource for transforming Munsell color theory into action – whether you’re designing palettes, producing products or conducting color-based analysis."
What Are Pantone Color Systems?
"Pantone provides a universal language of color that enables color-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers. More than 10 million designers and producers around the world rely on Pantone products and services to help define, communicate and control color from inspiration to realization – across various materials and finishes for graphics, fashion and product design. To learn more about our history, see About Us."
The Coloro System
"Color, how the human eye sees it"
Munsell Color Vision Test
"Accurate color vision is essential to all aspects of color development and effective color communication whether you’re designing, inspecting or formulating in any industry. The Farnsworth Color Vision Test (also known as the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test) uncovers color blindness and other color vision anomalies."
NCS Color Space
Since our founding in 1945, NCS has pioneered a universal language for colour communication that is now used by designers, manufacturers and the coatings industry in around 100 markets worldwide. "To celebrate 80 years of NCS Colour, we launch Together in colour – a campaign honouring the partnerships and creativity that shape our shared world of colour."
RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus
(About Us) "Colour definition and colour design have been our passion for 100 years. Having started as a colour collection to standardise processes in industry and the transport system, we have continuously developed new products for you, our customers over the decades. They have made the world we all live in more colourful, but also safer at the same time. This is because clear colour identification always also means greater safety in application."
ADOBE Color Wheel (Need to use WVC student access/login)

Pigments Through the Ages
The exhibit “Pigments through the Ages” on WebExhibits is designed by the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA) and offers a multidisciplinary, learner-friendly exploration of pigments, their history and usage.
Exhibit from Getty Museum "Bauhaus and Color Form"
MOMA archived exhibit "Color Chart: Reinvinting Color 1950 to Today"
Interactive archived exhbit from NYC MoMA on the history of color
Sarasota Art Museum exhibit "Color.Theory. &(b/w)
(Intro) "The creation of a new museum at an art and design college prompts us to explore fundamental elements of a foundational art education experience. Color. Theory. & (b/w) is the first installation of an ongoing curatorial investigation into the art and science of color. The subject of color theory allows us to look at a wide range of ideas, from cognitive science to philosophy to literature, while marveling at the seductive and confounding ways in which artists wrestle with color."

"Can a corporation "own" a color?" (Hustle magazine)
"A handful of companies have pushed the boundaries of intellectual property law by laying claim to individual colors."
Color Psychology in Marketing: The Ultimate Guide
COLRD
Create color palettes to share with the design community.
Design Seeds
Color palettes inspired and created based on nature.

The Public Domain Review
The webpage from The Public Domain Review titled “Colour Wheels, Charts, and Tables Through History” presents a chronology of systems devised over four centuries to visually organise and represent colour—from wheels and pyramids to emotion-based charts and scientific taxonomies. It highlights how these diagrams reflect evolving understandings of colour in art, science and culture, and invites readers to explore the many images sourced and linked on the page.