Advanced Colour explores the many languages of colour and their crucial importance in art and design to enable the students to identify, understand and decipher these languages in order to be able to apply this new awareness and knowledge to their own art or design practice. Following an overview of colour science and of the key theories of colour, the course focuses on cultural and the symbolic aspects of colour. This includes the study of the contemporary use of colour in advertising, design and fashion, in order to examine the multiple and often concealed meanings of colour and their influence on society. Colour composition in art and the evolution of the colour palettes in different iconographic traditions are studied to provide a solid visual and historical point of reference. The emotional, psychological and cultural impact of colour is investigated through lectures, group discussion, studio work, field work and museum visits.

Students are required to undertake three projects and to keep a Colour Diary containing personal observations, notes, samples, sketches, images and experiments of colour interaction. The assigned projects encompass the use of colour in advertising, colour design related to culture and identity, and colour composition in painting.

Although there are no specific pre-requisites to enrol in this elective, Advanced Colour is recommended to those students who already have a basic understanding of colour theory and are particularly interested in expanding and developing the perception, the sensibility and the skills that are essential in handling colour effectively in any media.