MAGGIE MAGGIO
My passion for color was sparked in middle school by the gift of hand-me down architectural magazines from a favorite aunt. A summer spent cutting out the pages and organizing them by colorway led to a fun-filled lifetime of color explorations in 2D and 3D. The eventual realization that traditional color theories do not work in practice inspired my creation of Smashing Color workshops in 1994.
I retired as an architectural designer in 2015 and now spend my time guiding teachers, artists and designers in their personal explorations of the multi-disciplinary world of color.
In my role as chair of the international Colour Literacy Project, a joint educational initiative of the Inter-Society Color Council of the US (ISCC) and the International Colour Association (AIC), I get to work with an amazing team of enthusiastic color experts who are advocating for updating and expanding color education programs world-wide.
As a member of the Board of Directors of the ISCC and co-chair of the AIC Study Group on Color Education, I am focused on bridging between the art, science and industry of color and advancing color literacy for the 21st century.
Over the years, I’ve co-authored two books on color- 'Polymer Clay Color Inspirations' with Lindly Haunani (2009), and 'Universal Principles of Color' with Stephen Westland (2023).
I live in Portland, Oregon - which I consider one of the most colorful cities in the world.
