María João Durão is a distinguished professor and researcher in architecture and design, with a long-standing career at the University of Lisbon's Faculty of Architecture. She holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon and earned her PhD at the University of Salford, focusing on Color and Space. Since 2001, she has taught at the University of Lisbon, where she founded the pioneering Master's program in Color in Architecture and leads the Color Laboratory (LabCor) and the Color and Light Research Group at CIAUD.

Durão has significantly impacted design education in Portugal and played a key role in establishing undergraduate degrees in Design and Art. She is actively involved in international research on drawing and color, holding leadership positions in the International Color Association (AIC) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). As an artist, her work has been exhibited globally, and she currently serves as Honorary President of the Portuguese Color Association.