Discover the Bird-Based Color Coding System Before Pantone

New Bird-Based System for Describing Color
Back in early 20th century, bird expert Robert Ridgway created an entire dictionary to classify birds’ colors, from Peacock Blue to Duck Green. The legacy of his work lives on in today’s art and design world.

While admiring the California Gulls one sunny afternoon on the Pacific coast, designer and birder Rhys Newman had an epiphany. As a visual identity consultant, Newman helps brands determine their color palette. He realized that bird colors always seem to work well together. This observation led him to discover Ridgway’s comprehensive exploration of bird hues from over a hundred years ago. Ridgway’s color dictionary was a pioneer in categorizing colors visible to the human eye. Though modern color systems like Pantone are prevalent today, Ridgway’s work served as a vital tool for ornithologists, helping them accurately describe bird species.

Ridgway’s color catalog originated in the late 1800s when taxonomists sought effective ways to describe the birds they encountered. At that time, the lack of standardized field guides made clear color descriptions important, preventing misunderstandings among researchers. A centralized color language was crucial, enabling scientists to communicate their findings worldwide. Ridgway believed that by understanding and using colors precisely, significant insights into evolution could be revealed.

In 1912, Ridgway published his groundbreaking book, “Color Standards and Color Nomenclature,” containing 1,115 meticulously organized colors. The guide separated hues by differences in lightness, darkness, and vibrancy. Ornithologists could now pinpoint the precise shades of bird characteristics, moving beyond generic descriptions like “light blue.” The book’s success was widespread, reaching not just naturalists but also stamp collectors, designers, and even individuals working with food coloring.

While Ridgway’s color system saw significant use at the time, it gradually fell out of favor with the advent of pocket-sized field guides and affordable cameras. Moreover, studies in psychology revealed human subjectivity in color perception, making it challenging to assess colors objectively, despite the detailed guide provided by Ridgway. Despite its waning utility, Ridgway’s pioneering work left an indelible mark on how we understand and describe color today.