Master Color Theory Through Practice
You've probably noticed how some websites just feel right. The colors work together, nothing clashes, and everything seems intentional. That's not luck—it's understanding how color actually works on screen. Our twelve-month program takes you from picking colors that "look okay" to creating palettes that communicate exactly what you want them to.
Schedule a ConversationWhat You'll Actually Learn
This isn't about memorizing color wheels. We start with how your eyes and brain process color, then move into practical application for web interfaces. Each phase builds on what came before—no jumping around or isolated lessons that don't connect.
Foundation Months (1-3)
How color perception works, cultural associations, and why RGB behaves differently than paint. You'll work with basic palettes and start seeing patterns in professional designs.
Application Phase (4-7)
Building accessible color systems, creating mood through saturation and brightness, working with brand constraints. Your projects get more complex as your toolkit expands.
Advanced Work (8-12)
Color in motion, dark mode systems, designing for different display technologies. You'll handle edge cases and create systems that work across multiple contexts.
How Learning Actually Happens
We've found that people learn color theory best when they can immediately apply it to real projects. Theory sessions are short—around 45 minutes—followed by hands-on work with feedback from instructors who've spent years doing this professionally.
Project-Centered
Every concept gets applied to interface design immediately. You won't learn about complementary colors in isolation—you'll use them to solve real design challenges that week.
Small Group Critiques
Weekly sessions with five other students and an instructor. You'll present your work, explain your color decisions, and get specific feedback on what's working and what isn't.
Revision Focused
Your first attempt usually isn't your best. We build revision time into every project cycle so you can apply feedback and actually improve, rather than just moving on to the next assignment.
Technical Foundation
Understanding WCAG contrast requirements, how different color spaces work, and browser rendering differences. The technical stuff that keeps your designs from breaking in production.
Real-World Constraints
Brand guidelines that limit your palette, accessibility requirements, dark mode needs. You'll work within the messy constraints that actual projects come with.
Portfolio Development
Your course projects become portfolio pieces. We help you document your process and decisions so potential employers can see how you think, not just what you made.
Your Year in Color
Here's what the twelve months actually look like. Each phase builds your skills progressively, and you'll have work to show from each stage that demonstrates growing sophistication in your color decisions.
Color Fundamentals
How human vision processes wavelengths, why digital color spaces exist, and basic color relationships. You'll analyze existing designs to understand why certain combinations work. Projects focus on simple interfaces where you apply what you're learning about contrast and harmony.
Accessibility and Systems
Meeting WCAG AAA requirements without making everything look boring. You'll build color systems that scale—creating variants for hover states, disabled elements, and different backgrounds while maintaining visual consistency across an entire interface.
Context and Emotion
Using color to communicate mood, urgency, or trust. Working within brand restrictions while still creating effective interfaces. You'll redesign existing sites with different emotional goals and learn when to break your own rules for better communication.
Advanced Application
Dark mode systems, animation color timing, handling different display technologies. Your final project is a complete design system with documentation explaining your color decisions—the kind of work that demonstrates professional-level thinking to potential employers.
Portfolio Work That Demonstrates Thinking
Employers want to see your process, not just finished designs. You'll document how you arrived at color decisions, what alternatives you considered, and how you tested your choices. That's what separates someone who can follow tutorials from someone who can solve new problems.