Earlier this year I published a survey on color education. Here are the results of that survey combined with additional research I was a able to include.

1. COLOR
THEORY
Maria Battor

2. COLOR: THEORY AND MIXING
As a child, I learned that red, yellow, and
blue were primary colors
I mixed red and blue repeatedly, with
unsatisfactory results
Recently I learned about magenta, yellow,
and turquoise
These create a much wider spectrum than
red, blue, and yellow.

3. “You were taught that primary colours are those that
can’t be made by mixing other coloured pigments
together, and that all other colours can by produced
by blending these primary colours. Red and blue fail
on both counts.”
Mark Lorch

5. SURVEY RESULTS:
 When you were a child, what did you learn were the primary colors?
• 69% red/blue/yellow
• 14% red/blue/yellow/green
• 6% red, blue, and green
• 6% were never taught primary colors or could not remember
• 4% cyan/magenta/yellow or cmyk
 Where did you learn information about colors, specifically primary
colors/secondary colors?
• 41% at home
• 25% at school
• 16% don’t remember

6. SURVEY RESULTS,
CONT.
 Did you try mixing the primary colors?
• 96% Yes 4% No
 If yes, did you continue to experiment with them or with other colors?
94% Yes 4% No
 Is magenta a color you easily recognize?
• 88% Yes 12% No/Not sure
 If you knew that colors mix differently than what you were taught as a
child, would you be interested in learning more?
• 96% Yes 4% No

7. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED:
 Some people do not want to learn more about color.
 It is hard to teach new concepts to adults.
 Color concepts are subjective and culturally negotiated.
 A society can think of itself as highly advanced and still
embrace incorrect color pedagogy

8. 69% of participants reported
learning red, yellow, and
blue as primary colors in
childhood.
Image sources:
Acrylic paints. (2013,
December 6). In Pixabay.
Retrieved March 10, 2015,
from
http://pixabay.com/en/art
-therapy-hand-hands-
handprint-227585/
Intersection. (2014). In
Pixabay. Retrieved March
10, 2015, from
http://pixabay.com/en/int
ersection-mix-colors-rgb-
red-154782/
Paintbrush. (2013,
December 6). In Pixabay.
Retrieved March 10, 2015,

9. CITATIONS
 Lorch, M. (2014, October 29). Five Science "Facts" We Learnt at
School that are Plain Wrong. In I Fucking Love Science. Retrieved from
http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/five-science-facts-we-learnt-
school-are-plain-wrong
 Acrylic Paints. (2013, August 17). In Pixabay. Retrieved March 11,
2015, from http://pixabay.com/en/acrylic-paints-color-color-mixing-
174727/