ClemsonGC Visits California for the Color Conference 2018

February 1, 2018

One of the vendors demonstrations at Color 2018.

Written by Oak Owens, class of 2019

Departing the afternoon of January 12th, 2018, four students, guided by both Dr. Liam O’Hara and Dr. Erica Walker made their way across the country to San Diego, California—their goal to represent Clemson’s Department of Graphic Communications at the Color ’18 Conference.

Color ’18 was a three-day conference, created so that aspiring color experts could listen to talks by industry experts, brand innovators, and individuals working with emergent technologies in color management. Attending Color ’18, a new and thrilling experience for us, allowed us to develop and sharpen our networking skills, introduced us to some of the most forward-thinking and driven individuals in the industry, and helped us develop a further knowledge of the subjects spoken about through the keynotes and sessions. “I gained an understanding of not only advanced color principles but also of professional networking,” said student Kylie Raines.

Over the course of three days, our schedule almost paralleled our courses back at Clemson, with different sessions scheduled during blocks throughout the day, starting with Keynote speeches with speakers from Google, 3M, and even Carnegie Mellon University imparting their knowledge. Afterwards, we would go into different designated “track” sessions based on what caught our interests.

Dr. Brian Lawler gives the Munsell Color test to a conference attendee.

Graduate student Himanshu Rana reflected on a lecture given by Dr. William Li of Kodak from the Print and Production track about the importance of color and color management, saying, “Color is critical. It is an emotion, and can strongly influence how we perceive things. Ask yourself this—would you buy something if it’s package didn’t look right? Visualize a faded coke red or a darker Clemson orange… According to Dr. William Li, Color enhances brand recognition by up to 80%. It can increase comprehension by up to 70%. It makes people read ads up to 42% more often. Color helps make an impression more memorable, up to 40% more memorable. It is imperative that such a strong marketing tool be managed and put to the best use. This is where color management and the knowledge of color experts help.”

Being very interested in the science of color myself, the relevance and magnitude of the importance of color was not surprising, but still incredibly impressive and awe-inspiring. One presentation that I sat in on which was particularly interesting was a presentation about Color Deficiencies in adults given by Dr. Brian Lawler of California Polytechnic State University. It was interesting to me, in particular, to learn about the different ways the cones in our eyes can have shortcomings, and the ways those shortcomings affect the vision of those that have them. I’ve always been curious about the different ways we as people perceive the world individually, and those impaired or forced to see the world in another way are especially intriguing subject matter to me.

Katie Treadaway, who had never gone to a conference before, had this to say about the experience: “My first conference experience was with Color2018 an I was extremely impressed with every aspect. I enjoyed the location, the sessions offered, and the networking opportunities.” All four of us were incredibly grateful to have gone on this trip. Our horizons expanded due to the networking opportunities and the chance to listen to some of the most storied and intelligent minds in the field was absolutely priceless.

In addition, during our free time we were able to explore the beautiful city of San Diego, a cultured city that was teeming itself with the very colors we were there to learn about. We managed to make our way to the Cabrillo National Monument after a morning of lectures, and the experience of seeing the world from that angle is one experience we’ll hold as close to us as we’ll hold all of the knowledge we gained in our minds.

The professional but enthusiastic environment, the desire to network and share knowledge between all off the attendees, and the many, many doorways this opened for the students involved made this an unforgettable, incredibly worthwhile venture for everyone involved.