TP#23: Color Psychology, I’m for Hire, and Retro Cocktails FTW
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Ways to Work With Me
2. Using Color Science
3. New on the Pod
4. Arty stuff
5. Patreon
A NOTE TO READERS: This newsletter is beginning to get really long. And next month, I'm adding a whole new section. So, in September, for the longer form articles, I'll be linking out to the full article on my blog rather than including the full text here.
studio news
I'm Available, so Hire Me ...
Did you know that you can hire me? I don't think I've ever made that plain in my newsletter. So, here are the ways you can work with me:
1:1 Coaching
I provide one-on-one coaching to artists, entrepreneurs, and teachers for:
Course design, including curriculum and user experience design
Project Management, including plan design, accountability, and risk mitigation
Consultation
If you have a larger project, you can hire me for:
Course Planning and Implementation: Ongoing consultation for both design and planning of courses, along with course implementation for both online and in-person classes. I've designed and implemented courses delivered to major insurance companies such as State Farm, Travelers, and Allstate, along with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Project Management and Implementation: Ongoing consultation for both planning and implementation of large projects such as public art installations, launching a business, and more.
Using Color Science to Craft Transformational Learning Experiences
There’s an art to creating learning environments—and it goes beyond pretty slides and clean layouts. Just like a great design invites you in, a thoughtfully built learning experience uses color not as an afterthought but as a subliminal guide. We’re not just delivering content; we’re designing experiences. And color? Color is the unsung hero in the cognitive landscape.
Color as a Cognitive Cue
Color affects mood, attention, memory, and even motivation. That’s not woo—that’s neuroscience. Our brains are wired to react to color faster than to text, and certain hues can subtly prime learners for particular states of mind. Think of it as setting the stage before the play begins.
For example:
Blue is linked with calmness, clarity, and trust. It can promote focus and reduce anxiety—perfect for onboarding modules or deep-dive tutorials.
Green is the color of growth and restoration. In a learning interface, green can reinforce messages about iteration, progress, and creative development—hello, growth mindset.
Purple sparks imagination and innovation, making it ideal for lessons centered around ideation, brainstorming, or visual storytelling.
Orange is associated with friendliness, optimism, and social interaction—use it to highlight discussion boards, collaborative prompts, or encouragement messages.
In the cognitive sciences, this is known as affective priming. We can’t change a learner’s mood with a single click, but we can nudge their mindset—inviting them to trust the process, lean into creativity, and stay engaged.
A Surface Design Case Study: When Color Teaches, Too
Let’s say you’re designing an online course on pattern development in surface design. The topic is already visual—score! But to take it from informational to transformational, you can use color to support the learner journey.
Here’s how:
Use blue backgrounds in intro videos and UI to build calm and trust—“You belong here, even if you’ve never used a vector tool in your life.”
Integrate green badges for milestones—each time they master a module, the badge affirms progress and encourages them to keep experimenting.
Feature purple accents in ideation worksheets, brush libraries, or any tool meant to spark creativity.
Design discussion spaces with orange tones, subtly reinforcing that this is a safe, welcoming place to connect and share.
This isn’t just branding—it’s strategy. And it works.
Color and Memory: Making It Stick
Research shows that color improves memory retention. In one study, participants recalled 10% more information when presented in color versus black-and-white formats (Dzulkifli & Mustafar, 2013). Why? Because color helps categorize and organize information. It signals importance and creates hierarchy in the learner’s mental model.
Need learners to remember five key pattern types? Give each one a signature color. Want them to identify mistakes in a layered Photoshop file? Highlight the problem layers in red, the safe zones in green.
This kind of subliminal signaling doesn’t distract—it empowers learners to focus their attention where it matters most.
Designing the Whole Experience
As curriculum designers, we’re not just educators—we’re environment shapers, emotion managers, and experience architects. The colors we choose are part of the pedagogy. A warm ochre might soothe a perfectionist. A splash of fuchsia could say, “This isn’t corporate. Let’s play.” We don’t always have to say it with words—color already knows what to do.
Want learners to feel something before they learn anything? Then don’t just choose colors that look good. Choose colors that do something. Teach with them. Let them whisper into the learner’s subconscious: you’re safe here, you’re curious, you’re ready.
Now, go forth and color outside the lines—on purpose.
SOURCES
Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2012). Color-in-context theory. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 61-125.
Dzulkifli, M. A., & Mustafar, M. F. (2013). The influence of colour on memory performance: A review. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, 20(2), 3–9.
Kaya, N., & Epps, H. H. (2004). Relationships between color and emotion: A study of college students. College Student Journal, 38(3), 396-405.
If you haven't yet tuned in to Two Cranky Creatives, I hope you connect with us and listen wherever you get your podcasts! This month on the podcast, we unpack "cranky" with Nate and Salli from Illustrators for Hire, get color curious with Ana Bianchi, and talk about how to stay paid with Kay Wolfersperger.
New episodes drop every other Wednesday!
ARTY STUFF
The Classics
I've been in a retro modern kind of mood. We've begun renovating our kitchen, where we are trying to retain the character of our 130-year-old house against my modern design aesthetic. So, we've been going very retro modern in our choices. All of this has found its way into my art as I've been designing some new posters. These two prints are part of a series on classic cocktails.
These prints, and all my wall art, are available on my Etsy shop.
Over on Patreon, the gangsters are getting a design quick tip on creating pitch sheets in Photoshop in under five minutes. Yes, you can skip Illustrator, especially if you are already working primarily in Photoshop. I'm also giving the gangsters the replay of my live workshop, Project Management for Artists, which I delivered at the Kansas Arts Network Annual Conference.
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Thank you so much for reading! I spend a lot of time trying to make this newsletter worth its place in your inbox. I hope that comes through!
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