Inter-Society Color Council

Inter-Society Color Council The ISCC is the professional color society in the United States, encompassing the arts, and sciences.

The Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC), founded in 1931, is the principal professional society in the field of color in the United States, encompassing the arts, sciences and industry.

Day 5 of 20: ArchitectureDefine Color: The Work Behind the WordsWhen an architect talks about color, they’re often talki...
06/08/2026

Day 5 of 20: Architecture

Define Color: The Work Behind the Words

When an architect talks about color, they’re often talking about place.

Color is not simply applied to a building. It becomes part of how people experience a space, navigate an environment, and connect with the built world around them.

An architect might describe a color as:

“Contextual.”
“Material-driven.”
“Site responsive.”
“Complementary to the landscape.”
“Human scaled.”

Unlike fashion designers, who use color to express identity, architects use color to shape experiences within physical environments.

The same white can feel crisp and modern in one setting, historic and traditional in another. A deep blue may create a sense of permanence on a civic building but feel intimate in a residential space.

Architects must consider sunlight, geography, materials, culture, durability, and the relationship between a structure and its surroundings.

For architects, color is rarely an isolated decision.

It is part of a larger conversation about form, function, materials, and human experience.

The challenge is creating spaces that are both visually meaningful and responsive to the people who use them.

That’s the work behind the words.

How do you define color in your profession?

⸻

This post is part of the “Define Color: The Work Behind the Words” series leading up to the symposium hosted by the Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC).

Color scientists, designers, artists, educators, marketers, manufacturers, and many others use the same color words—but often mean very different things. Join us as we explore how various professions define and communicate color.

📅 Define Color: The Work Behind the Words
June 24, 2026

🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/g7qSjrw9

Day 4 of 20: Fashion DesignDefine Color: The Work Behind the WordsWhen a fashion designer talks about color, they’re oft...
06/07/2026

Day 4 of 20: Fashion Design

Define Color: The Work Behind the Words

When a fashion designer talks about color, they’re often talking about identity.

Color is one of the most powerful tools in fashion. Long before a garment’s cut, fabric, or silhouette is noticed, color creates an impression. It can communicate confidence, elegance, creativity, tradition, rebellion, or belonging.

A fashion designer might describe a color as:

“On trend.”
“Seasonal.”
“Flattering.”
“Statement-making.”
“Timeless.”

Unlike interior designers, who use color to shape the experience of a space, fashion designers use color to shape how people express themselves.

The same black dress can feel sophisticated, dramatic, or modern depending on its styling. The same red can project power on a runway, celebration in one culture, and warning in another.

Fashion designers must consider not only aesthetics, but also trends, consumer preferences, cultural influences, and the emotional connection people have with color.

For fashion designers, color is more than decoration.

It’s a language people wear.

The challenge is selecting colors that help individuals communicate who they are—or who they aspire to be.

That’s the work behind the words.

How do you define color in your profession?

⸻

This post is part of the “Define Color: The Work Behind the Words” series leading up to the symposium hosted by the Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC).

Color scientists, designers, artists, educators, marketers, manufacturers, and many others use the same color words—but often mean very different things. Join us as we explore how various professions define and communicate color.

📅 Define Color: The Work Behind the Words
June 24, 2026

🔗 Register here: https://iscc.org/Color-Impact/

Day 3: Interior DesignDefine Color: The Work Behind the WordsWhen an interior designer talks about color, they’re often ...
06/06/2026

Day 3: Interior Design

Define Color: The Work Behind the Words

When an interior designer talks about color, they’re often talking about experience.

Color has the power to transform a space long before a piece of furniture is placed or a room is occupied. It can make a room feel expansive or intimate, energetic or restful, formal or inviting.

An interior designer might describe a color as:

“Grounding.”
“Warm.”
“Airy.”
“Sophisticated.”
“Cocooning.”

Unlike color scientists, who define color through measurement, or graphic designers, who define color through communication, interior designers define color through atmosphere.

The same green might feel calming in a bedroom, restorative in a healthcare setting, or luxurious in a dining room. Lighting, materials, texture, scale, and surrounding colors all influence the experience.

For interior designers, color is more than a visual element.

It’s a tool for shaping how people feel, function, and connect within a space.

The challenge is selecting colors that create harmony between the environment and the people who inhabit it.

That’s the work behind the words.

How do you define color in your profession?

⸻

This post is part of the “Define Color: The Work Behind the Words” series leading up to the symposium hosted by the Inter-Society Color Council.

Color scientists, designers, artists, educators, marketers, manufacturers, and many others use the same color words—but often mean very different things. Join us as we explore how various professions define and communicate color.

📅 Define Color: The Work Behind the Words
June 24, 2026

🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/g7qSjrw9

Day 2: Graphic DesignDefine Color: The Work Behind the WordsWhen a graphic designer talks about color, they’re often tal...
06/05/2026

Day 2: Graphic Design

Define Color: The Work Behind the Words

When a graphic designer talks about color, they’re often talking about communication.

Color is one of the fastest ways to convey meaning before a single word is read. It can attract attention, create hierarchy, establish mood, and reinforce a brand’s identity.

A graphic designer might describe a color as:

“An accent color.”
“A brand color.”
“A high-contrast palette.”
“A warm and approachable blue.”

Unlike color scientists, who define color through measurement, graphic designers define color through message.

The same red can signal excitement, urgency, passion, or danger depending on the context. The same blue can feel trustworthy, corporate, calming, or cold.

For graphic designers, color is not simply decoration—it’s a communication tool.

The challenge is selecting colors that help people understand what matters, where to look, and how to feel.

That’s the work behind the words.

How do you define color in your profession?

⸻

This post is part of the “Define Color: The Work Behind the Words” series leading up to the symposium hosted by the Inter-Society Color Council.

Color scientists, designers, artists, educators, marketers, manufacturers, and many others use the same color words—but often mean very different things. Join us as we explore how various professions define and communicate color.

📅 Define Color: The Work Behind the Words
June 24, 2026

🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/g7qSjrw9

How do we define color?That’s one of the big questions behind this year’s ISCC Color Impact 2026 Symposium: Defining Col...
06/04/2026

How do we define color?

That’s one of the big questions behind this year’s ISCC Color Impact 2026 Symposium: Defining Color: The Work Behind the Words.

So before the symposium begins… let’s play a game.

For the next 36 days, we’ll post a new color each day and ask one simple question:

What would you name this color?

Check in daily to play along, compare answers, and explore how differently we all talk about color.

Register for the symposium: https://lnkd.in/g7qSjrw9

Day 1: Color ScienceDefine Color: The Work Behind the WordsWhen a color scientist says “red,” they’re not really talking...
06/04/2026

Day 1: Color Science

Define Color: The Work Behind the Words

When a color scientist says “red,” they’re not really talking about red.

They’re talking about measurable data.

Color scientists define color through systems such as the CIE XYZ Color Space, CIELAB Color Space, spectral reflectance, chromaticity coordinates, and color difference equations. Their goal is to describe color in a way that can be measured, communicated, reproduced, and understood consistently around the world.

A color scientist might describe a color as:

“L = 52.3, a* = 67.8, b* = 32.1”*

rather than simply saying “bright red.”

In color science, color isn’t just a visual experience—it’s a relationship between light, an object, and an observer.

The challenge is translating something deeply personal and perceptual into something objective and measurable.

That’s the work behind the words.

How do you define color?

⸻

This post is part of the “Define Color: The Work Behind The Words” series leading up to the symposium hosted by the Inter-Society Color Council.

Color scientists, designers, artists, educators, marketers, manufacturers, and many others use the same color words—but often mean very different things. Join us as we explore how various professions define and communicate color.

📅 Define Color: The Work Behind The Words
June 24, 2026

🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/g7qSjrw9

⚾ What do baseball and color science have in common? It all started on June 3, 1851. Today marks exactly 175 years since...
06/03/2026

⚾ What do baseball and color science have in common?

It all started on June 3, 1851. Today marks exactly 175 years since the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club took the field wearing the first-ever official, matching team uniforms.

While sports historians celebrate this as the birth of athletic branding, it is also a masterclass in early color utility, status signaling, and contrast.

Here is the fascinating part: not a single intact uniform from this historic squad survives today. Because they were made of organic white flannel and blue wool, they naturally degraded into history.

But looking at the color choices they made, the Knickerbockers accidentally laid the groundwork for modern sports design:

🔹 White Flannel as a Status Symbol: In 1851, keeping white fabric pristine was incredibly difficult and expensive. For this club of elite Wall Street brokers and politicians, wearing stark white shirts was a high-society flex—signaling wealth, prestige, and the luxury of frequent, rigorous laundering.

🔹 Blue Trousers for Practical Contrast: To ground the outfit, they chose long, dark blue wool trousers. This combined a dignified, nautical aesthetic with a practical benefit: dark fabric easily hid the dirt and grass stains inevitable in a field game.

🔹 High-Contrast Typography (Before the Text): As the sport exploded, fabric limitations meant almost every new team copied the white shirt/dark pant formula. The solution to team differentiation? High-chroma hosiery.

Teams dyed their long stockings in vibrant, saturated hues to create distinct visual identities, giving birth to legendary franchise names like the "Red Stockings" (Reds/Red Sox) and "White Stockings" (White Sox).

From the very beginning, color in sports wasn't just decorative. It was an essential tool for group identification, visual tracking against green fields, and brand perception.

Happy June 3 to my fellow color enthusiasts! What is your favorite historical example of color being used for pure functional utility? Let’s discuss below! 👇

How do we define color?That’s one of the big questions behind this year’s ISCC Color Impact 2026 Symposium: Defining Col...
06/02/2026

How do we define color?

That’s one of the big questions behind this year’s ISCC Color Impact 2026 Symposium: Defining Color: The Work Behind the Words.

So before the symposium begins… let’s play a game.

For the next 36 days (day 24), we’ll post a new color each day and ask one simple question:

What would you name this color?

Check in daily to play along, compare answers, and explore how differently we all talk about color.

Register for the symposium: https://lnkd.in/g7qSjrw9

🎨 Today is the birthday of Martha Washington (June 2, 1731)!Let’s talk about color—and shoes.When Martha Dandridge marri...
06/02/2026

🎨 Today is the birthday of Martha Washington (June 2, 1731)!

Let’s talk about color—and shoes.

When Martha Dandridge married George Washington in 1759, she didn’t walk down the aisle in plain footwear. Her wedding shoes were made of purple satin, a bold and luxurious choice in the 18th century when vibrant dyes were expensive and often associated with wealth and status.

The shoes were adorned with metallic sequins, silver lace, and silver trim, creating a dazzling effect that would have caught the light with every step. In an era when clothing and accessories served as visual indicators of social standing, these shoes made a statement.

💜 Purple was one of the most prestigious colors of the time, symbolizing luxury and refinement.

✨ The silver embellishments added sparkle and contrast, turning a practical item into a work of art.

👠 More than 250 years later, Martha Washington’s wedding shoes remind us that people have always used color to express identity, celebrate important moments, and communicate status.

For color scientists and color enthusiasts, they’re also a fascinating example of how color, material, texture, and light work together to create visual impact.

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