Just interested to know how you would describe colours to someone who is, and has always been, blind?

Well, first of all you have to be willing to step back and realize that people that have sensory disabilities percieve the world differently than persons with intact senses. You need to step outside your normal way of thinking and be creative. A blind person is hypersensitive with sound, smell, touch, etc.
So you would need to use analogies, what each color would feel like or smell like.

White could be the feel of fluffy loose cotton.
Blue might be ice cubes for the chill of it.
Brown might be the smell of cinnamon.
Red could be something heated very warm.
Green could be the smell of freshly mowed grass.
Yellow could be the taste of creamy butter.

A blind person probably never will see, but they can experience broader ranges of mental concepts if they are assisted to do so.

I think it's useful for profoundly blind people to know (if they don't already) what colors actually mean for the sighted people around them.

Red is active; it physically makes your pulse increase. It's used for "Stop" and "Danger" signs because red "shouts" at you. It's said that McDonald's restaurants are red and yellow because it makes people eat faster and free up tables.

Blue is calming. Purple is royalty or romance. Artists, advertisers, and interior decorators use colors in certain ways to create moods.

Hope that helps.

See more at:
http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/wadecolor/start.htm

Lots of clicking, but more info:
http://psychology.about.com/library/bl/blcolor_red.htm

Links to Articles:
http://psychology.about.com/blsub_soimg_color.htm

try describing a dog's bark to a deaf man

try to describe your Downs Syndrome to those unafflicted

Try to describe beef to a life-long vegan

Try to describe wisdom to a 2-year old.

Without a frame of reference, one has nothing to go by. How can a blind man understand 'red' when they're given a completely unassociated frame or point of reference?

It's as pointless as describing this website to Napoleon.


I gotta ask- if a person is blind, would they even care?
It's kind of like listening to someone drone on and on about the weird dream they had the night before. Dreams are really interesting- to those who have them. Colors are really interesting- to those who can see them.


Mr(see me, feel me)Sensitive