About




In 2008, Technician and faculty member William Miller began a modest collection of pigments and research materials related to the study of color with the aim of helping students and faculty better understand the powerful though sometimes confusing behavior of color in art and design.

Over a decade later – and with the support of a motivated, cross-divisional cohort of faculty and staff who are deeply passionate about color – the RISD Color Lab has become an interdisciplinary center for teaching and learning about color in art, design, and culture.

The resources of the Color Lab give members of the RISD community access to pigments, dyes and inks, published research and physical models on color theory, and a multiplatform space to learn, make, and critique from a common, color-centric departure point. The Color Lab will also maintain an active engagement with the color industry in pursuit of knowledge, resources, and research partnership.

Along with RISD’s other academic commons – CoWorks, The Center for Arts and Language, and the Edna Lawrence Nature Lab to name a few – The Color Lab extends the voice of the strategic plan by acting as a “non-departmental, co-located” common space where interdisciplinary inquiry on color can be gathered and organized toward the goal of furthering research activity at RISD.

If you are passionate about the power of color – or merely curious – visit the RISD Color Lab. We can be found in the Visual+Materials Resource Center at the Fleet Library and at our window exhibition space at 30 North Main.  We serve color daily ︎

Color Served Daily
The RISD Color Lab is a multiplatform space where faculty and students can engage with the one aspect of art and design that draws us all together : COLOR

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Visit the Color Lab
Our exhibition space is viewable from the street at 30 North Main. Our physical materials collection may be requested through the Visual + Material Resource Center at Fleet Library.


colorlab@risd.edu