History

The French Center of Color was officially created in March 1976, but it can be considered that it has its roots in the French Association of Colorimetry when it started in 1956 in the Color Information Center already chaired by Professor Yves Legrand. Among the reasons to create such an organization are some basic needs clearly seen by the start-up team :

1. Create relationships between color science and color users

• To overcome deficiencies in basic color knowledge ;
• To disseminate information and to overcome the lack of documents especially in French language ;
• To offer specialist assistance and take advantage of the skills of its members ;
• To develop later a laboratory equipped with measuring devices.

2. Bridging the world of color as seen by creators and users and the world of color in science and industry

• To take into account the invasion of color in everyday life ;
• To overcome the difficulties of communication between people specialized in very narrow fields of knowledge whereas the color phenomenon does not have a border. These principles are not totally new and can be found in other associations of color. But an important and certainly more specific idea was to stress the absolute necessity of a vast meeting and working place where all the problems of color could be discussed, considered in their entirety and in a multidisciplinary approach, so that Scientific, technical, practical, psychological, aesthetic or other points of view can be confronted in a constructive way. Thus no subject related to color should be considered outside the field of interest of the French Center of Color.

The first ten years of the French Center of Color were considerably shaped by its president Dr. François Parra, who was deputy director of the Laboratory of Physics at the Natural History Museum in Paris. It attracted a large number of French personalities including the world of research, industry, education, psychology, etc. Several events were organized and particularly in April 1984 an extremely interesting multidisciplinary meeting. This period culminated with the 5th Congress of the AIC held in Monte Carlo in June 1985 and organized, as everyone knows, by the French Center of Color. After the death of François Parra in June 1985 the French Center of Color entered a difficult period due to a large number of serious problems that had to be solved at the same time. For example, the Center lost the patronage that had given him the financial means to publish his newspaper, he was also forced to leave the premises of the Museum.

The objectives of the French Color Center have remained such, but for the present period there is no possibility of developing in the foreseeable future a laboratory with measuring equipment. After some time of reorganization the Center gradually resumed its activity. One of the Center’s most important actions is related to color training. This is particularly true for the industry in the form of four-day seminars for technicians and engineers. The Center also participates in similar activities put in place by other organizations. In parallel with this action, the Center is developing a reflection on the content of such seminars, as well as on the best pedagogy in the field of color training. In this formation we insist a lot on the connection that exists between physical aspects, physiological aspects and perceptual aspects. We also believe that problems of color and communication must also be approached with care, even in an industrial environment. The Center is also starting to organize training seminars on communication, marketing, packaging and other issues. The Center also organizes a number of meetings alone, or in cooperation with other organizations. For example, color and measurement problems in the food industry, color and packaging issues, color and ethnology issues, which the Center contributed to an exhibition at the Museum. Popular Arts and Traditions in Paris on the crafts of color at the beginning of this century.

The Center is attentive to decentralize its actions, on the one hand by promoting the development of local initiatives as varied as possible, and on the other hand by preparing interventions and conferences in several cities in France or by writing articles for widely diffused technical journals. These include colour training, colour measurement in industry, colour and communication, colour and marketing, ,colour in Architecture and colour meetings in cinemas, in science and colour, and finally on more particular subjects such as those of wine colour, colour in comics, etc.

The Center no longer publishes the magazine “Couleur”, but regularly publishes for its members short documents called “Primaires & raquo” and “Complémentaires & raquo” which give a press review of color events and more complete information about work on color. . These publications of a very original nature are of interest to many members. In the area of its publications, the Center seeks to publish an important document every year. In 1988, it published a classified bibliography of publications from 1983 to 1987, on all aspects of colour, by French authors (400 references).

To complete this brief presentation of the CFC specify that in accordance with French legislation the Center is an association under the law of 1901, of which Dr. Robert Sève is currently the elected President. Finally the Center is the French member of the International Association of Colour (AIC).

Robert Sève – October 1989