How to Describe a Color to a Blind Person

Download the article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. To create this article, 44 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved after it receives enough positive comments. In this case, 100% of the readers who voted found the article useful, earning our Reader Approved status. This article has been viewed 803,455 times. Know more…

People with no vision problems know what a certain color looks like, but how would you describe a color to someone who is blind? When you consider that even colorblind people see differently, this subjective task can be difficult. However, many colors can be associated with certain smells, tastes, sounds, or feelings. Here are some tips for describing color to a blind person.

1. 

   Use of touch to describe colors. Have a person hold certain objects while you tell them what color they are. It might be helpful to consider using objects that are almost always a certain color.

   • Ask someone to hold different pieces of wood, touch the bark of a tree, or touch the dirt on the ground, and explain that all of these things are brown.
     • Say, “Brown feels like dirt or the dead parts of things that have grown out of the dirt.”
   • Give the person some leaves or blades of grass to hold and explain that they are green. Green looks like living parts of plants, because when plants are green it means they are alive. You can even provide dead leaves and explain the difference between green and brown.
     • Say: “The softness and suppleness of the leaves seem like greenery; green feels like life. But when the leaves are as crisp as these others, they have turned brown and are no longer alive.”
   • Ask them to put their hands in a bowl of cold water and explain that the water is blue. Tell them that small amounts of water are a very light blue, almost transparent and colorless, and large amounts of water, such as rivers or oceans, are a very dark blue.
     • Say, “The way you feel when you’re swimming in the water, the cool moisture that feels soothing, it’s so blue.”
   • Explain that heat, such as fire, a candle flame, or a hot stove burner, is red. Red can generally be considered heat or even a burn.
     • Tell the person: “If you have ever been sunburned, your skin turns red. Or, if you were embarrassed and blushing, that warmth on your cheeks looks red.”
   • Explain that concrete, for example in walls or floors, is grey. The metal is also gray; tell them that gray is usually hard and that it is hot or cold depending on whether it is sunny.
     • Say: “Gray is very hard and strong. It seems solid like the path under your feet or a wall you can lean against, but it is not alive, it does not grow, it has no feelings.[1]

2. 

   Consider smells and tastes to describe colors. Smells and flavors can definitely be associated with certain colors.

   • Explain that spicy foods and peppers for spicy foods are often red. Other foods that are also red are strawberries, raspberries, and cherries. Explain that because these flavors are so intensely sweet, they look red.
     • Say, “Just as you may feel flushed when you feel hot, you may also feel flushed when you eat something hot and spicy.”
   • Give the person an orange and explain that an orange is the color orange. Pay attention to the smell and taste.
     • Say: “Oranges are generally described as refreshing, sweet, and tropical; the sun is orange, and many orange foods need a lot of sun to grow.”
   • Do the same with a lemon and a banana and explain that the lemon and the banana are yellow. Although they are different flavors, they are both yellow, and yellow can be tart and citrusy, or sweet and nutritious.
     • Say: “Yellow food also needs a lot of sun, it is bright and cheerful.”
   • Give the person lettuce leaves (lettuce and spinach) and explain that they are always green. It smells green and has a clean, sharp taste like earth plants, and sometimes tastes a bit bitter. Vegetables are generally not sweet like fruits; it is often bitter or may have other odors.
     • Have the person smell different herbs, such as mint, and say, “Vegetables smell like this: fresh, clean, and healthy.”
   • For non-food odors in nature, explain again that leaves and grass are green and water is blue. Beach scents are blue for water and brown or white for sand. Explain that flowers can be any color, and often the same type of flower comes in many different colors, but they are usually not green, brown, gray, or black.[2]

3. 

   Consider how sounds can describe colors. Certain sounds can definitely be associated with certain colors.

   • Explain that sirens should make them think of the color red, because red is the color used to attract people’s attention, and the lights on many fire trucks, police trucks, and ambulances are red.
     • Say: “When you hear a siren, it is for people to be alert and pay attention right away, because there could be danger. Red is like that: it is urgent and it attracts attention”.
   • The sound of flowing water, especially the murmur of a stream or the crashing of ocean waves, should make them think of the color blue.
     • Say, “blue is calm and beautiful, like the sound of water that makes you feel relaxed.”
   • The sound of green can be the rustling of the leaves or the song of the birds. Explain that not all birds are green, but because birds live in trees, bird sounds often make people think of the color green.
     • Say: “When you hear the rustling of the trees and the chirping of birds, this is what the color green sounds like.”
   • Describes the sounds of the storm as grey. When it thunders and rains, the sky is gray and everything seems even grayer.
     • Say: “Storms are gray. The sounds of loud thunder and rain mean it’s gray outside, it’s a bit dark and depressing because there’s no sun.”[3]

4. 

   Describe how colors make you feel. People tend to associate colors with certain emotional or psychological states, and a lot of research has been done on the connection between colors and feelings. Explain to the person more often:

   • Red: Usually the color of anger, sexual arousal, physical force, or aggression.
   • Orange: physical comfort, enough food, warmth and security, sometimes frustration.
   • Yellow: kindness, joy, optimism, confidence, sometimes fear.
   • Green balance, refreshment, harmony, ecological awareness, peace.
   • Blue: intelligence, coldness, calm, tranquility, logic.
   • Purple: spiritual awareness, mystery, luxury, truth; often associated with dreams
   • Black: sophistication and glamor (positive), or heaviness, threat or oppression (negative)
   • White – purity, clarity, cleanliness, simplicity
   • Brown – earthy, reliability, support
   • Gray – neutrality; lack of confidence or energy; depression
   • Pink: affection, warmth, femininity, love.[4]

1. 

   Determine the nature of the person’s visual impairment. Most visually impaired people have some useful vision, even if it’s just light perception. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, only 18% of visually impaired people are classified as completely blind, and most of them can distinguish between light and dark.[5]

   • The ability to distinguish between light and dark can help you explain black and white by saying that black is darkness and white is the presence of light.

2. 

   Ask if the person has been blind since birth. Since nearly all blindness (in the United States) is due to eye disease, many visually impaired people have lost their sight at some point in their lives. This means that you can help them remember certain things they saw by describing them.

3. 

   Find out if a person has color blindness. Color blindness is a type of visual impairment in which a person can see objects, but many colors are confused or not seen the way most people see them.[6]
   People who are color blind often see red, orange, yellow, and green as the same hues, and see blue and purple as the same. While working or talking with a colorblind person, you can easily name the colors of common everyday objects.

   • Teachers of color blind students should always use white paper and white chalk to increase contrast. Labeling various stationery and art supplies (crayons, markers, colored paper, etc.) would also be helpful.[7]

Categories: How to
Source: HIS Education