

Email: ellen.divers@gmail.com Tel: 919-225-7797
ABOUT
Born in the United States and raised in Argentina, my perspective on design (and life in general) was shaped by navigating between cultures -- an experience that taught me to look beneath the surface of things for common threads and universal connections. My upbringing, combined with an affinity for design and conceptual thinking, paved the way for my current exploration of how people respond to color and design in general.
An undergraduate degree in Psychology and Women’s Studies at University of Richmond, and then an M.Ed. in Adult Education paved the way for me to hone skills in instructional design/training, meeting facilitation, and process improvement, and my visual thinking talent was channeled through logo design and other graphic communication. However, a lifelong curiosity about interior design and the fine arts eventually led me to begin studying color in the built environment and from there I decided to pursue a B.S. degree in Interior Design with a minor in Studio Art from Meredith College (Raleigh, NC). While at Meredith I conducted a study entitled Beyond Hue: Affective Response to Value and Chroma, a work that explores how variations in value and chroma convey distinct impressions irrespective of hue. The study also explores how we conceptualize color and its influence on research and the practice of design.
I enjoy teaching what I've learned! I presented a webinar entitled, "The Blind Spot in Architectural Color" as part of the Inter-Society Color Council's webinar series, and have presented at RUColor 2020, Color Impact 2020, Color Impact 2021, AIC2022 and Color Impact 2023 conferences (some of this work is accessible from the color research page). My plan is to eventually offer online courses to designers (stay tuned!). In the meantime I continue to grow my understanding of color through participation in projects through the Inter-Society Color Council where I serve as member of the Board of Directors.
Understanding how something works allows us to be thoughtful and intentional when we do use it. I've always been process-oriented, whether I'm designing a learning experience, mapping a business process, conceiving an interior space, or choosing a color palette. Defining a thought process for color selection in the built environment occupies my thinking a lot these days, and it is my hope that I can contribute to the evidence that will help designers use color “on purpose”, especially in therapeutic spaces where it matters the most.