Inter-Society Color Council

You’re invited to join us for a special presentation by Ann Laidlaw, one of the most respected voices in color communication and management.

In “A Brief History of CIELAB,” Ann will share the story behind the color space that became the foundation for modern color measurement and communication. Drawing on decades of experience with SheLyn, GretagMacbeth, X-Rite, and independent consulting, she offers a unique perspective that bridges the history, science, and practical application of color.

Whether you’re a color scientist, color professional, student, or enthusiast, this promises to be a fascinating session.

We hope you’ll join us.

🔗 https://lnkd.in/g7qSjrw9

Cutting Edge Color Webinar: From Paints to Pixels: Color Design, Art, and Communication. Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 11:00am Eastern. Given by Dr. Petronio Bendito. Register here: https://iscc.org/event-6711007

💗 Marilyn Monroe Turns 100: Let’s Talk About Color 💄💎

Today marks the 100th birthday of Marilyn Monroe, and while her platinum blonde hair often gets the attention, color enthusiasts know the real magic was in her palette.

Many people are surprised to learn that Marilyn’s famous lipstick wasn’t always the cool blue-red we often associate with classic glamour. Makeup historians, including Erin Parsons, have explored the warm orange-red lip colors Marilyn wore—shades that photographed beautifully and complemented her golden coloring.

But if we’re talking color, we can’t stop at the lipstick.

We have to talk about the pink dress.

In the iconic “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” scene from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn wore one of the most recognizable garments in popular culture. Designed by William Travilla, the gown wasn’t a delicate pastel. It was a bold, highly saturated pink that could stand up to Technicolor film, sparkling diamonds, black tuxedos, and a vibrant stage set.

From a color perspective, it’s brilliant:

💗 Saturated pink gown
🧡 Orange-red lipstick
💛 Platinum blonde hair
🖤 Black accents
💎 White diamonds

The success of the look wasn’t any single color—it was the relationship between them.

The warm pink and orange-red create harmony. The black tuxedos provide contrast. The diamonds add brilliance. Marilyn’s light hair and skin amplify the entire composition.

In color science terms, it’s a beautiful example of how context changes perception. Colors rarely work alone. They become more vibrant, more memorable, and more emotionally powerful because of the colors surrounding them.

One hundred years later, people still recreate Marilyn’s look. What they’re really recreating is one of the most successful color palettes ever assembled.

Happy 100th Birthday, Marilyn Monroe. A century later, we’re still talking about your colors.

May 1889: The Eiffel Tower Opens to the Public

When the Eiffel Tower opened to the public during the 1889 World’s Fair, it wasn’t the bronze-brown color we know today. The “Iron Lady” was coated in a rich reddish-brown paint designed to protect its puddled iron structure from corrosion.

Its color history is surprisingly dynamic. Before assembly, the tower’s components were painted Venetian red in Gustave Eiffel’s workshops. Over the next 130+ years, the tower would wear a variety of colors as preservation methods, aesthetic preferences, and technology evolved:

* 1887–1888: Venetian Red (during assembly)
* 1889: Reddish-Brown
* 1892: Ochre-Brown
* 1899: Yellow gradient, from orange-yellow at the base to pale yellow at the top
* 1907–1947: Yellow-Brown
* 1954–1961: Reddish-Brown
* 1968–Present: “Eiffel Tower Brown”

Perhaps the most fascinating color detail is that the tower is still painted using three different shades of the same color. The darkest tone is applied at the base and the lightest at the top. This compensates for atmospheric perspective and helps the tower appear more uniform when viewed from the ground.

In other words, one of the world’s most famous landmarks relies on a carefully engineered color illusion.

The tower is repainted approximately every seven years, requiring about 60 tons of paint to protect the structure from rust while preserving its iconic appearance.

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

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 25), 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

🔴 Why is the world’s most recognizable brand color actually a mistake?
On May 29, 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton placed the very first newspaper advertisement for a new patent medicine called Coca-Cola in The Atlanta Journal.

His modest, two-inch print ad didn't focus on ingredients. It focused on the feeling, describing the fountain drink as: "Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating!"
While the text sold the experience, the visual identity that followed would spark a fascinating case study in chromatic branding.

Initially, the drink was a slow commercial experiment, averaging just 9 glasses sold per day at a soda fountain in Jacob's Pharmacy for $0.05 a glass. Bookkeeper Frank Robinson coined the name and penned the famous Spencerian script logo. But the iconic red color arose from a brilliant pivot due to local prohibition laws—and a tax loophole:

🎨 The Taxman’s Visual Cue: After stripping wine from his original formula to comply with temperance laws, Pemberton began shipping his product in barrels. Because alcohol was heavily taxed but soft drinks were not, he painted the barrels bright red so tax officials could instantly distinguish them at a glance.

🧠 The Psychology of High-Saturated Reds: From a color theory perspective, the brand leans into a high-chroma, high-wavelength red. This specific choice maximizes visual dominance, instantly triggers attention, and anchors itself deeply into human color memory.
What started as a practical workaround for 19th-century tax officials has evolved into one of the most rigorously protected corporate color lexicons in history. It proves that color is never just an aesthetic choice—it is a functional tool for systemic identification.

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 27), 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

On this day in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge officially opened to the public — and before cars were allowed to cross, nearly 200,000 pedestrians walked across the bridge on opening day.

But one of the most fascinating parts of the story is its color.

The bridge almost wasn’t orange at all.

When the steel arrived in San Francisco, it was coated in a rust-colored primer meant only to protect the metal during shipping. Architect Irving Morrow noticed how beautifully the warm orange-red contrasted with the cool fog, blue water, and rolling hills of the bay.

At the time, many officials wanted the bridge painted black, gray, or even striped in black and yellow for visibility. Morrow pushed for the orange tone instead, believing color could make the bridge feel both functional and emotionally connected to its environment.

He won.

The final shade became the bridge’s famous International Orange — a color now recognized worldwide and forever tied to one of the most iconic engineering achievements in history.

It’s a perfect reminder that color is never just decoration. Sometimes color becomes identity.

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 28), 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