AIC NEWSLETTER - APRIL 2025

AIC2025 NEWS

AIC2025, 16th Congress of the AIC, "Color for Future"

Due to numerous requests, the abstract submission deadline for the AIC 2025 Taipei Congress has been extended to May 1. We have already received 142 exceptional submissions from all over the world.

The 16th AIC Congress will feature a diverse program, including workshops, the EC meeting, a welcome reception, invited talks, keynote speeches, oral and poster presentations, a general assembly, study group meetings, and the prestigious Judd and CADA Award ceremonies and lectures. To bring a different experience to the participants, the congress will be held at the century-old tobacco factory in Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (SCCP). There are some art galleries nearby, as well as shopping malls, convenience stores, and MRT.

To provide attendees with greater flexibility during their stay in Taipei, the organizing committee has adjusted the schedule, moving the excursion to the final day of the congress.

We are honoured to receive support from the National Science Council of Taiwan, Meet Taiwan, and CIE-Taiwan. If you have time, you can attend the art festival ART-Taiwan held near the venue on the evening of October 23 for free. There are several options for excursions on the last day, including a visit to the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

AIC NEWS

AIC Judd Award 2025 Recipient: José Luis Caivano

The AIC Vice-President announces the AIC Judd Award 2025 to José Luis Caivano.

José Luis Caivano has dedicated his life to building bridges between color science, color language, and environmental color design. Caivano was president of AIC (2006-2009), International Association for Visual Semiotics (2012-2015), and Argentine Color Group (1994-2004). Vice-president of AIC (2004-2005), and chairman of AIC Study Group on Environmental Color Design (1997-2005). From 2001 to 2012 he was vice-president of International Association for Visual Semiotics and member of advisory board of International Association for Interdisciplinary Study of Symmetry. Caivano has participated in 133 national and international congresses. He was invited lecturer in meetings and taught courses in Argentina and abroad: Europe, North and South America, and Asia.

He is author of 4 books, editor of 19 books, and has published 176 articles in books, proceedings of congresses and international journals such as Color Research and Application (Wiley), Die Farbe (Muster-Schmidt), Colour: Design & Creativity (Society of Dyers and Colourists), Optica Pura y Aplicada (Spain), Colore (Italy), Languages of Design (Elsevier), Leonardo (MIT Press), Semiotica (Mouton de Gruyter), Visio (Canada, JIAVS), Cruzeiro Semiotico (PAS), DeSignis (Barcelona, Gedisa), Symmetry: Art and Science (Society for Interdisciplinary Study of Symmetry journal). Caivano is senior editor of Color Research and Application, associate editor of journal Color Culture and Science (Italy), member of editorial committee of Journal of International Color Association, JAIC. He was editor of journal AREA, the monograph series Serie Difusión (BA University) and Proceedings of the Argentine Color Congresses (10 vols). He has been member of the editorial committee and advisory board of journals Visio (Canada), Web Architecture Magazine (Spain), Languages of Design (USA), and The Story of Life (India). 

Sponsorship: RIT Munsell Color Science Laboratory

AIC CADE Award 2025 Recipient: Berit Bergström

The AIC Vice-President announces the AIC CADE Award 2025 to Berit Bergström.

Berit Bergström has dedicated herself to bridging the gap between colour theory and practical application. She has been at the forefront of initiatives that highlight the importance of colour in the fields of art, architecture, and design, while also advancing research in colour perception, communication, and environmental design. Her leadership in key organisations, including the Swedish Colour Centre Foundation and the International Colour Association (AIC), has elevated the status of colour as a fundamental element in design and the built environment. Among her most notable contributions: • Advancing Colour Education – Through her leadership at the Swedish Colour Centre Foundation (1992-2023), Berit has worked tirelessly to incorporate colour education into design and architecture programs, ensuring that future generations of designers understand the impact of colour in spatial and environmental contexts. • Bridging Research & Practice – As CEO of NCS Colour Academy (1993-2012), she developed the Certified Colour Designer and NCS Certified Teacher programs, ensuring that colour education was not just theoretical but deeply embedded in practical design and architectural applications. • Encouraging Innovation in Colour Design – She co-founded Awarded Colour (2012), a competition in Sweden that encourages emerging designers, architects, and artists to explore the creative potential of colour in design and the built environment. • International Colour Advocacy – As President of AIC (2010-2013), she played a critical role in establishing International Colour Day (ICD), ensuring that the cultural and artistic significance of colour was recognized worldwide. • Shaping Global Colour Discourse – through numerous international lectures, conferences, and workshops, she has contributed to discussions on colour aesthetics, perception, and its role in architecture, urban design, and cultural identity.

Sponsorship: Associação Portuguesa da Cor / Portuguese Colour Association

AIC EDITORIAL COMMITTEE NEWS (AIC ECo)

The AIC Annual Review 2024 Is Now Online

We are pleased to announce the publication of the AIC Annual Review 2024 (Vol. 37). As a key part of its mission, the Annual Review fosters peer-reviewed interdisciplinary collaboration, promotes knowledge dissemination, and supports innovation across all areas of colour research—aligning with the AIC’s broader goal of advancing global understanding of colour.

This edition highlights the activities undertaken by AIC members worldwide over the past year, including:

• The Annual Review 2024 Editors’ Note

• The AIC President's Report and updates from the AIC and Executive Committee

• Reports on the activities of AIC Regular Members
  Reports on the activities of AIC Study Groups

• Summaries of AIC Awards, Congresses, Conferences, and Obituaries

The volume was edited by Maurizio Rossi and Ingrid Calvo Ivanovic.

To access the publication, visit the AIC Publications website at this link.

The Proceedings of the AIC2024 Midterm Meeting are now published

We also announce the publication of the Proceedings of the AIC2024 Midterm Meeting, ‘Color Design, Communication and Marketing’, held in September 2024, in São Paulo, Brazil.

The close to 400 pages Proceedings consists of 8 plenary lecture summaries. 66 oral papers and 18 poster papers. On a related note, extended papers of the best AIC2024 Student Papers have also been published in the latest JAIC Volume 38.    

The Proceedings were edited by Peter Rhodes and Vien Cheung, with Cover Design by Gisela Costa Pinheiro Monteiro.

To access the publication, go to this link.

AIC STUDY GROUPS NEWS

Study Group on Colour Education (SGCE)

New Leadership for the AIC SGCE

Starting in April 2025, the AIC Study Group on Colour Education (SGCE) will be co-chaired by Maggie Maggio and Ingrid Calvo Ivanovic. For the past five years, Maggie served as co-chair alongside Robert Hirschler, who, after 15 years of dedicated leadership, has chosen to voluntarily step down.

Maggie’s new co-chair, Ingrid, has been an SGCE member since 2010 and has played an active role in the Colour Literacy Project, serving on its Steering Committee since 2019. The AIC Executive Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Maggie and Ingrid as co-chairs for the upcoming period in April 2025.

On behalf of the SGCE, Maggie and Ingrid would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Robert Hirschler for his many years of commitment to the Study Group and for his outstanding contributions to advancing colour education within the AIC community and beyond—particularly as one of the founders of the AIC+ISCC Colour Literacy Project.

Coming Soon: Colour Literacy Forum 12 - Saturday, May 17.

The Colour Literacy Forum 12, the second part of this year's 'Facts and Myths about Colour' series, will take place on Saturday, May 17, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern Time. 

Forum 12 will be titled "Beyond Hue: Reframing Colour for a Multidimensional World", starting with speaker Ellen Divers, who will introduce the criticalities of the hue-based colour psychology -the hue paradigm- when addressing colour meaning in design practice. Then, Esther Hagenlocher will introduce a methodology for palette creation in interior design and architecture projects that goes beyond the traditional hue-based theories of harmony and contrast, and connects with cultural heritage, in the case of Oregon's Colours.

More information and registration: https://colourliteracy.org/

Updates from the Colour Literacy Project (CLP)

The first months of 2025 have been a dynamic period for the Colour Literacy Project, which has entered a new phase this year: CLP 2.0. This phase introduces a restructured team framework, consisting of one Core Team (responsible for project management) and four Focus Teams:

• Team 1: Teaching Resources & Website Development (led by Robin Kingsburgh)

• Team 2: Foundations & Under-18 Partners Network (led by Maggie Maggio)

• Team 3: Post-Secondary Partners Network (led by Luanne Stovall)

• Team 4: Research & Outreach (led by Ingrid Calvo Ivanovic)

This new structure has brought an increasing need for more colour experts and educators, many of whom have joined CLP in recent months. Currently, the project consists of 20 members, including team members and consultants from 10 different countries.

On March 1, CLP hosted Colour Literacy Forum #11 on the topic “Colour Misconceptions and Their Impact in the Classroom”, featuring Robert Hirschler and Andreas Schwartz, both CLP team members. You can watch the recording of this session, along with previous forums, on the CLP Website or the CLP YouTube Channel.

In March and April, CLP was presented at several conferences and events:

• March 13 – CLP team members Ingrid Calvo Ivanovic, Robert Hirschler, Robin Kingsburgh, Maggie Maggio, and Luanne Stovall presented the project’s achievements and future goals at CIVAE2025, the 7th Interdisciplinary and Virtual Conference on Arts in Education. A paper was also published in the conference proceedings. Watch the presentation here and read the paper here.
  

• April 4-5 – Maggie Maggio introduced the project at the National Art Materials Trade Association (NAMTA) Show in Seattle, USA.
  

• April 10 – Luanne Stovall presented CLP at the FATE Conference (Foundations in Art: Theory and Education) in Washington, D.C., USA.

For more updates, visit the project’s website.

Study Group on Environmental Colour Design (SG ECD)

Call for Papers ends 31 May 2025 - AREA Special Issue: Color in Architecture, Design, and Urbanism

Research Department School of Architecture, Design and Urbanism, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Topics:

• Psychological aspects and influences of light and colour stimuli in the habitat;
  
  
• Meanings and preferences of colour in spaces, objects, and designed media;
  
  
• Historical evolution of concepts and theories of colour and light in relation to the human environment;
  
  
• Color systems and codes used in architecture and design;
  
  
• History, archaeology, and practices of chromatic restoration in urban centres;
  
  
• Meanings of chromatic materials in different design disciplines;
  
  
• Methods, techniques, and procedures for using colour in design activities.

Language: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Length of articles: max. 8,000 words, min. 4,000 words

Submission website: https://area.fadu.uba.ar/en/call/ 

AIC REGULAR MEMBERS NEWS

Australia - Colour Society of Australia

Colour Beyond the Surface: Art in Architecture (Prof. Fiona McLachlan) and CSA National Conference 

Please join us online for "Colour Beyond the Surface: Art in Architecture" with Professor Fiona McLachlan (Univ. Edinburgh) at 8 pm AEST on June 17. Details of this and other CSA events for 2025, including a presentation with Berit Bergstrom, will appear on our website and our social media accounts Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Our call for online or in-person presentations at our national conference "Colour Matrix Sydney 2025" (Oct 31 - Nov 2, 2025) has been extended to May 16. For all details please see this link.

Italy - GdC - Associazione Italiana Colore

CCSJ special Issue on: Design and Fashion Design: A Chromatic History
Deadline for full papers: May 31, 2025. 

Guest Editor Prof. Raimonda Riccini: full professor in design, design historian, founder and past president of the Italian Association of Design Historian-AIS/Design, and past president of the Italian Society of Design-SID.

In design and fashion, colour has always played a central and significant role in many respects. It is enough to recall the characterizing role of colour in industrial products, both from the point of view of sales strategies and corporate identity and from that of user perception and usability; the contribution of colour to interaction processes, but also those of signification, communication, and graphic and visual systems; not to mention the relevance of the colour component in the study and use of materials, from fabrics to natural and polymeric materials. No less significant is the contribution that the study of colour has made and continues to make to design education and didactics, starting from the great lessons of the VkHutemas, the Bauhaus, the New Bauhaus and the School of Ulm, which have built an indispensable grammar and syntax, valid even in the face of the transition from analog to digital. Finally, the contribution that designers, sometimes implicitly, have made to construct a theory and culture of colour in design is vibrant.

However, until now, there has been no reflection on the role that colour has historically played in the fields of product, fashion, and communication, as well as concerning the changes brought about by electronics and the digital. This special issue explores the multifaceted relationship between design and colour throughout the 20th century. The essays are expected to reconstruct this relationship from a historical perspective in the different fields of interest. 

More information: https://jcolore.gruppodelcolore.it/ojs/index.php/CCSJ/announcement

Switzerland - pro colore

pro colore event 

Date: Friday, May 9, 2025, 5:00 pm CET

Location: Münchwilerstrasse 4, 9554 Tägerschen, TG, Switzerland

Visit to the Werkhaus Freisitz, a centre for high-quality and experimental craftsmanship as well as for the exploration of building culture.

Further information: https://procolore.ch/treffs/

pro colore museum day

Date: Saturday, June 28, 2025, 11:00 am CET

Location: Fabrikstrasse 30a, 9220 Bischofszell, TG, Switzerland

Guided tour of the Typorama, a typographic museum and print shop.

Further information: https://procolore.ch/treffs/

AIC ASSOCIATE MEMBERS NEWS

CIE | International Commission on Illumination

Register Now for CIE 2025 Scientific Conference: Early Bird Rates Until May 1st

The CIE 2025 Midterm Meeting in Vienna is open for registration! Join us from July 4–11, 2025, for the Scientific Conference (July 7–9) and Division & TC Meetings (July 10–11). Benefit from Early Bird rates until May 1, 2025. The conference will cover key topics in lighting science and technology, with workshops and expert discussions. Share this announcement widely within your networks!

More information: https://vienna2025.cie.co.at/

IN MEMORIAM

PETER SEDGLEY (19th March 1930 – 17th March 2025) was a significant English artist associated with Op Art and Kinetic Art. In 1963, his sustained investigation of colour began with a number of hard-edged (mostly striped) abstractions. These were followed by a series of ‘target’ paintings, the soft circular forms of which were deliberately anonymous ‘so that it was the colours rather than the forms which would command the attention of the spectator’ (Cyril Barrett). Sedgley had met Bridget Riley in 1961, and together they later co-founded London’s SPACE studios and the Artist Information Registry (AIR). Of Sedgley, Riley wrote, ‘I didn’t know how to make a curve, even how to use a ruler, till I met Peter. He had to teach me geometry so that I could make the things I knew ought to be.’ In 1965, they participated in William Seitz’s ‘Responsive Eye’ exhibition at MoMA, New York. Sedgley later augmented his brushed and sprayed canvases with light sources and rotating colour filters, which gave the appearance of contraction and expansion in relation to controlled colour change – consciously adding the element of time to his works. In a statement to me in 1977, he wrote, ‘In 1968 I began making colour installations with red, blue, green and yellow floodlights projected through strips which produced coloured-shadow compositions which changed according to a pre-set programme. This produced variations in colour by mixing the projections optically and provided a possibility of producing far purer colours than the use of pigments.’ Experiments led to his ‘videorotors’, exhibited periodically at the Redfern Gallery and elsewhere, featuring painted discs programmed with sequences using white, filtered and ultraviolet light and rotating dichroic prisms. Sedgley worked in London until moving to West Berlin in 1971. In a conversation in 1989, at the house he retained in Sussex, he stated further, ‘It’s helpful to have a discipline – whether or not you call it a ‘formula’ or ‘manifesto’. It’s your personal taste, or your ability to handle certain colours rather than others, and then you might devise some formula out of it. But to make it an objective formula can be dangerous if you are then unable to modify it to suit a new set of requirements.’ On 13th May 1998, he was chosen to present the first Turner Lecture of the Colour Group (Great Britain) at the Royal College of Art in Kensington.

Obituary sent by Roy Osborne.

Copyright (C) 2025 International Colour Association (AIC). All rights reserved.

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