The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color with Author Kory Stamper (Ep. 511)

What is color? And why is it so hard to define?

In today’s Art Ed Radio episode, Tim sits down with lexicographer and author Kory Stamper to explore the strange, fascinating, and often messy world of color. From dictionary definitions to commercial uses to industrial color matching, Kory shares how something we see every day is surprisingly difficult to pin down in words.

She discusses how scientists, artists, and industries all approach color differently, and why humans are both wildly inconsistent and incredibly accurate when it comes to perceiving and matching color. You’ll also hear stories from Kory’s new book, True Color, and what those stories can tell us about the power of language, perception, and association.

Whether you love color theory, design, or just a good deep dive into something we take for granted, this conversation is worth diving into.

Full episode transcript below.

Resources and Links

• • Find True Color on bookshop.org
  • Take a look at Kory’s website
  • How to Teach Color Theory and Keep Students Engaged

Transcript

Tim:
We now have Kory Stamper. Kory, thank you so much for coming on the show. How are you?

Kory:
I’m good, Tim. Thanks so much for having me.

Tim:
Yeah, I’m really, really looking forward to the conversation. As I said in the introduction to the episode, I love the book. But I would love to begin with an introduction—if you don’t mind. Can you share with our audience whatever you want them to know about you or your work, and especially the new book?

Kory:
Sure. I am a lexicographer, which is a person who writes and edits dictionaries for a living. It is a job—there aren’t many of us left, but it is a job.

I am not an artist, but I was very interested in color definitions and color in general, and I got into that through the dictionary side of things. I’ve written this book, True Color, which focuses on a particular period of time to tell the story of how we’ve tried to describe, normalize, and deal with colors in our everyday life.

And yeah—I’m enjoying being a color nerd.

Tim:
Well, that’s good—that’s why I wanted to have you on, because I’m a color nerd as well. It’s very exciting. Every time we do color theory episodes, people love them.

But I need to know—what first pulled you into the rabbit hole of color definitions? How did you come across that? And how do you go from writing something small, like a color definition, to writing an entire book about how we define color?

Kory:
Yeah, I got sucked in—and it was an active force that pulled me in. When I was working at Merriam-Webster, we were putting our unabridged dictionary, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, online.

My job was to compare the print version to the online version to make sure everything rendered correctly. As I was proofreading, I ran into some color definitions that just… weren’t bananas, but they shifted my understanding of color about 15 degrees off center.

I found them really evocative and interesting. As a lexicographer, I understood what they were trying to do—but they weren’t doing it the way they should. So I wanted to find out more about the people who wrote them.

I discovered that they weren’t staff—they were scientists out in the world. That pulled me into color science, then color perception, color theory, application, commercial color…

If you like color, you know—it ripples out into everything.

What fascinated me was how color science, color theory, war, love—even something like “sea pink”—all came together in these strange little dictionary definitions. That’s what became the impetus for the book.

Tim:
Yeah, I love that. That’s part of what I loved about the book—how all those things interact in unexpected ways.

But I also want to ask: as a lexicographer, how do you define something as slippery as color? And are there particular colors that are especially difficult? Do lexicographers argue about this stuff?

Kory:
Yes, there are lexicographer parties—and we do argue about things like this. Very small, very nerdy group.

Most definitions work by starting with a core category term, then adding descriptors. For example, if I say “scarlet,” you might say, “a vivid red.” That’s your definition.

But the hardest ones are the core colors—red, blue, green, yellow. How do you define those in a way that satisfies scientists—who want nanometers and reflectance—and also satisfies everyday readers?

And you have to think about your audience. If it’s an English learner’s dictionary, you can’t use scientific language. So instead, you might say “red is the color of blood.” But even that can be culturally inconsistent across languages.

So those core colors are the hardest.

And yes—one of the biggest arguments is over aqua or turquoise. Is it a greenish blue or a bluish green? The “-ish” tells you the weaker color, so people get very opinionated. No matter how you define it, someone will argue with you.

Tim:
I love it. And yes—I immediately have an opinion.

That’s a great segue into my next question. Humans perceive color inconsistently, but industry needs precision and consistency. Can you talk about that tension?

Kory:
Absolutely. Much of the book focuses on a time when the U.S. government invested heavily in color research. They wanted to standardize color across science, art, and industry—which, as you can imagine, didn’t go over well everywhere.

But as color manufacturing expanded, consistency became crucial. Imagine buying a pink car—you also want a pink hat, shoes, gloves… but those are different materials, and each takes color differently.

We expect them to match, even though color perception is complex.

Interestingly, scientists are still discovering new things—like the possibility of “super seers” who can perceive more wavelengths than most people.

But what humans are very good at is matching colors. Even people who say they’re bad with color can match colors.

Industry depends on that. If one washing machine is slightly off-white compared to others, you won’t choose it. We judge quality by color consistency.

So even though perception varies, we each have internal consistency—and that’s what industry relies on.

Tim:
That’s fascinating. That gives me a lot to think about.

I also wanted to ask about color names—like paint colors. Some are very poetic. How much of that is science versus marketing?

Kory:
There’s actually a whole color-naming industry involving psychology, marketing, and chemistry.

We have basic color names—like red, blue, green—and inherent names like lilac or lime. But beyond that, it’s mostly vibes.

Studies show that the more evocative or fancy the name, the more people are willing to pay. If your black shirt is called “Onyx,” it can cost more.

But there’s still some science. If a name contradicts the color too much, people react negatively.

For example, “lake” is a red pigment in art—but non-artists associate it with blue. If you mismatch those expectations, people get frustrated.

So names have to stay within certain boundaries to avoid cognitive dissonance.

Tim:
That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate you explaining that.

To close, can you share a favorite story or fact from your book?

Kory:
I have a lot, but I’ll share one about the word “puke.”

Before it meant what we think today, it referred to a fine wool cloth that was a reddish-brown color associated with luxury. Shakespeare even used it that way.

Then a completely unrelated word—also spelled “puke”—came to mean vomit. And that association completely erased the original meaning.

Now, if you ask people what color “puke” is, they’ll say something yellow-green or unpleasant.

So one word now represents two completely different colors—on opposite ends of the spectrum—just because of how language and association evolve.

Tim:
That’s incredible. I love that example.

Kory, thank you so much for being here, and for all the work you put into the book. Before we go, can you remind everyone of the title and where to find it?

Kory:
Absolutely. The book is True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color from Azure to Zinc Pink.

You can find it at most bookstores. I recommend Bookshop.org, but it’s available wherever books are sold.

Tim:
Perfect. Thank you so much, Kory.

Kory:
Thank you.