Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

"Universal Principles of Color" is a vibrant tapestry of color knowledge, meticulously woven by authors Stephen Westland and Maggie Maggio.

This book is a kaleidoscope of practical wisdom that will forever alter the way you perceive and wield color.

Key Concepts

Chiaroscuro: The interplay of light and shadow, like a chiaroscuro painting, breathes life into color. Westland and Maggio delve into the nuances, revealing how contrast shapes our visual experience.

Simultaneous Contrast: Prepare to question your assumptions! This principle explores how colors influence one another when juxtaposed. It's like a lively conversation between hues at a vibrant cocktail party.

Color Harmony: Imagine a symphony where each instrument plays in perfect harmony. This book dissects color harmonies—complementary, analogous, and triadic—revealing their emotional impact and design applications.

Psychology of Color: Why does red evoke passion, while blue soothes? Westland and Maggio decode the psychology behind color associations, empowering designers to evoke specific emotions.

Color in Branding: From Coca-Cola's iconic red to Google's playful primary palette, this book unveils the secrets of successful branding through color choices.

Color in Healthcare: Ever wondered why hospitals favor calming blues and greens? Dive into the healing power of color and its impact on patient well-being.

Color in User Interfaces: Whether it's a sleek app or a website, color influences user experience. Learn how to create intuitive interfaces that guide users seamlessly.

Format and Layout

The book's layout mirrors its content—organized alphabetically for quick reference. Each concept spans two pages: the left side provides a succinct definition, while the right side showcases visual examples. It's like flipping through a gallery of color brilliance.

Why Read It?

"Universal Principles of Color" isn't just for designers; it's a prism through which anyone can explore the magic of color. Whether you're an artist, marketer, or curious soul, this book will ignite your creativity and deepen your understanding of the world's most captivating phenomenon.

Westland and Maggio have crafted a masterpiece—a chromatic compass guiding us through the spectrum of color. So grab your brush, adjust your monitor, and let this book infuse your world with hues that sing, whisper, and dance. 🌈✨

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Universal Principles of Color is a well written and accessible theory guide by Maggie Maggio and Stephen Westland. Released 21st Nov 2023 by Quarto on their Rockport imprint, it's 216 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is a very useful and information dense textbook treatment of concepts of color: perception, light, object reflectivity, shape, nuance, and much (much) more. Each idea is presented on a 2 page facing spread with text explanation on the left side and facing illustrations/photos on the right. The text is easy to understand and there are surprisingly complex concepts presented in bite-sized pieces.

Five stars. This would make a superlative choice for public or school library acquisition, for home use, artist's studio collections, as well as for more formal classroom instruction in design, art, and allied subjects.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A dense and slightly academic book on color and color theory. It took me a few tries to make it through, but I understand color so much better now! As an artist and a touch>color synesthete, I appreciate all the new information I learned.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book has really helpful information and great pictures to illustrate each idea. A great book to learn about using colour.

A fantastic book for any art enthusiast. This is a must have resource for artists and anyone interested in colour theory.

Every art instruction book contains at least some pages about color. If you need more, actualy if you want to examine color from every aspect, you might be interested in this volume. Every double page treats one property or concept so it might be used as a reference book. Only for serious colorists, not for beginners.

Informative and explorative. As an artist I really enjoyed this book. Color always intrigued me so I knew I’d get a lot of info out of this.

Well researched and theorized, this book Is perfect for any artist or anyone who loves color. (Fashion designers/interior decorators etc)

I think the format was unique and I highly suggest this book for a closer look at colors we see in every day life.

Interesting introduction and a good overview of colour theories and principles. Accessible with good examples and illustrations.

This is an absolutely glorious book perfect for dipping in and out of, or for using as an introductory guide for further understanding. I'm fascinated by ideas such as colour theory in textiles, or why we can't actually see the colour purple (we just interpret it), and this book is great way to start understanding this and more.

I love that each of the concepts is introduced with practical examples and then cross-references to other sections in the book. It allows for a wide understanding of topics which then allow the reader to research ideas in more depth, knowing which keywords and concepts to use. Each concept takes a double page spread and a lot of white space surrounds the images and text, breaking everything down into smaller, digestible chunks of information.

The first concept is #TheDress which amused me -- the outcry over whether it was blue or gold was huge at the time -- and the whole book uses contemporary examples. Another concept 'cinematic colour' gives the colour fingerprints of three films each for three contemporary film directors: Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson and Hayao Miyazaki. Seeing the information highlighted like this is joyous, giving context to what we see on the screen. Or if not entirely a new concept, helping to deepen understanding.

In 'colour forecasting' we are shown ideas like the Pantone Colour of the Year, and how the fashion and automotive industries are instrumental in pushing forward how colours are used. It's almost a shame this book was written prior to 'Barbenheimer' as I'm sure the authors would have pulled out a lot of information there.

As well as being an alphabetical resource of concepts, this book also has different 'pathways' accessed by a colour-coding system -- a nice meta touch, if you will. It means you can dip in and out of science-based topics to read art-based ones, or ditch those for more historical concepts. The authors do suggest reading each pathway in order but I'm not sure this is essential.

More impressive to me is the breadth of the book -- it covers such a range but at no time does it get bogged down in academic speak. Nor does it patronise, which makes it suitable for a wide range of audiences.

My final thoughts? As a stepping stone for further research or just for perusing, it's a vivid and interesting applied resource. I'll definitely want to buy a copy for my shelf and am sure it'll be something I will dip in and out of for a long time.

Universal Principles of Color is a very interesting book if you enjoy art or marketing. Most of these principals were familiar to me, however, I didn't know where they came from, and this book did a great job of explaining each one. And what is really nice is that there are some nice examples of each principal as well. There is not an exhaustive description of each principal, and one could easily do more research on each principal of interest. I would recommend this book to anyone in marketing or arts...professional or hobbyist.

Universal Principles of Color : 100 Key Concepts for Understanding, Analyzing, and Working with Color is an extensive reference and guidebook aimed at all creatives interested in the theory of colour. It is easy to read and some the ideas and concepts introduced are inspiring. The perfect book for artists, designers, and anyone interested in colour theory or just playing with colour in their life.

An excellent primer on all things color! One hundred concepts of color are made easily-digestible by the book's pithy explanations and photo examples. This reader appreciated how each color concept was accompanied by a "See Also" box containing additional, related conceptual terms to refer to.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me an advance readers copy.

The pictures in this book are fantastic! I can see myself using this book for reference and inspiring color palettes.

This is basically a textbook and visual dictionary on the science and industry of color. Each of the 100 concepts is given a double page spread with a short definition, a longer explanation, and large and small photographs to illustrate the concept. It’s a great reference for those who work with color, though not exactly a book you would read for pleasure. It’s very thorough and well done for what it is, though.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

DNF. A Well written, very indepth book.
I thought it was mixing color or more on that side of color theory.

Very very interesting and sometimes even fascinating concepts about color. Including some I have never heard or read about. I love this format where each concept occupies one spread, with the concept discussed on one side and a visual example or use of that color on the other. I have seen a similar book on the universal principles of design and loved that one too.

Color affects every aspect of our lives whether we realise it or not. Artists and designers will find this book very helpful , as I have (as an artist.) But actually anyone who loves color will find this book a page-turner. Some of the concepts are harder to grasp and I found myself thinking I must go read up on that elsewhere as well.

I hope to get a hardcopy edition of this title. It is worth looking through multiple times.

"Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet."

This book is very interesting and organized very well. I was able to understand the purpose of the book and grasp the concepts easily. Great read!

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic and could not stop reading it.