Color Theory Summer 2021

When Susannah Gravel had to move her in-person Color Theory class online due to Covid-19, the biggest challenge was adapting the service-learning component of the course. In Color Theory, students explore the mediums of painting, printing, design, film, and other visual media. Via weekly online discussion forums, they learn about the interactions of color and its effect on visual perception as well as study color action and color relatedness.

When the class was in-person, the service learning component involved the creation of a mural that students installed in the community; online, there wasn’t the same ability to create something as permanent. Despite this challenge, Gravel says that collaboration was still a top priority. Students pulled together a presentation that displayed artwork they had all created throughout the class. The full presentation can be viewed here. 

“Both experiences [online and in-person] were valuable and offer different avenues of learning and understanding color theory,” Gravel says. “I highly recommend this course for any student who is interested in visual or digital arts, photography, architecture, landscape, interior design or would like to expand their thinking in a new and diverse method…my hope is that students go out and start to see the world in a totally different and colorful way.”