Contemporary Views on Color: Research and Applications between Science, Culture and Design

This review analyzes contributions that testify to the vitality and plurality of approaches with which color remains the object of study and reflection in the most diverse disciplinary fields, which embrace a broad and articulated thematic arc. It ranges from visual perception and sensory correspondences to the aesthetics of sustainable and inclusive design through communication strategies in the financial, marketing, and cultural fields to the conservation of photographic heritage and critical reflection on chromatic symbolism. A common thread emerges clearly: the centrality of color as a tool of meaning and mediator between perception, culture, and technology. The set of research offers an updated and in-depth cross-section of current research on color through methodologies that intertwine empirical investigation, semiotic analysis, visual experimentation, study of design practices and technical-scientific evaluation of materials. This variety reflects the intrinsically transdisciplinary nature of color studies, which are nourished by the dialogue between the hard sciences and the human sciences, between laboratory experimentation and field applications, and between the most advanced technologies and the symbolic and anthropological dimension. The text is, therefore, configured as a coherent and stimulating mosaic, capable of reflecting the richness of perspectives with which color continues to be questioned in contemporary times.