'Color in Action' project award winners announced

Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company and the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design idustries, and the Academy of Art University, one of the top graphic design schools in the country, announced the winners of Color in Action, a unique project designed to explore the positive influence of color on social change.

The judges selected Team Bullying as the winner of the Color in Action project. Team Bullying posed the question, "How Does Color Affect a Developing Brain and Can We Use it to Lower Aggression and Teach Tolerance?" Studies have shown that one’s physical environment directly impacts behavior and certain colors are linked to increases in brain development, visual processing and lowered stress.

With today’s alarming rates of bullying-related violence and suicides, Team Bullying set out to see if color could be a force for positive change. The team’s goal was to use color as a tool for enhancing the school environment, building community and embracing diversity.

The panel of judges, made up of Pantone representatives, color enthusiasts and industry experts, announced the winning project at the Academy of Art University’s 2012 Annual Spring Show in San Francisco last night. Winners were recognized based on creativity and use of color related to hard-hitting topics that were chosen by the teams to reflect personal passions and interests.

"Color in Action is undoubtedly a remarkable project that challenges students to not only look at today’s pressing social issues but to also inspire change through creativity and color," said Giovanni Marra, director of corporate marketing at Pantone.

"It was an honor to participate in this project and see, first-hand, the passionate and creative work coming from tomorrow’s talented youth."

"I am proud of the in-depth research and how well each team incorporated color to bring recognition to their social action campaigns in a very short timeframe," said Academy of Art instructor and design professional Tom Sieu.

"It is important for young graphic designers to not just create beautiful things, but to also think about the social conditions that shape them. Pantone has given these students a hands-on, real-world learning opportunity that will undoubtedly have an impact on how they will approach projects as graphic designers in the future."

"As design students, our job is to come up with creative solutions to problems and get great work into our portfolios, but Color in Action allowed us to apply our skills toward something bigger than ourselves," said student Elizabeth West from Team Bullying.

"I think that each team's work proves that graphic designers are more than capable of helping solve for social change, and that color can be a powerful tool. e are grateful to have been part of this, and hope that other young designers can be given similar opportunities."