If you think interviewers only ask job related questions, you’re in for a big surprise.
Imagine yourself sitting in a job interview. Everything feels right; you’re smiling from ear to ear, you’re answering the questions like a well-prepared applicant. Until, the interviewer asks,
“How would you describe color red to a blind person?”
Suddenly, your confidence deserted you, and panic took over.
“Sorry, can you repeat that?”
“How would you describe color red to a blind person?”
Don’t let unexpected questions ruin your interview. If you’ve prepared for the job related questions, that’s more reason to prepare for the unrelated ones.
How Would You Describe Colors to a Blind Person?
Since a blind person has no concept of colors, visually describing it to him is impossible.
Here’s what you wanna do:
Focus on what a blind person has and not on what he hasn’t.
We have five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. If you think about it, he’s only missing one. That means he still has four of them and five if you add the emotion and abstract symbols.
A blind person cannot see, but he can hear, smell, taste, touch and feel emotions.
Since he perfectly understands these senses, associate them to colors! Use them as your anchor.
Sample Answers
1. Red
Think of red as something warm and nourishing. Like fire which helps us cook our meals and keeps us from getting cold.
Red is also a sign of love and tenderness, like a mother’s warm embrace to her newborn child or that nice feeling you get everytime you hug someone you love.
Too much red is potentially dangerous though. It could mean intense anger. It could burn homes, start a fight, and destroy relationships. A bad blood.”
Senses described: warmth (touch); love, anger and security (emotions)
2. Yellow
Smell and taste a lemon and you’ll get a glimpse of yellow. It’s strong but pleasant. It demands attention but gives enough to deserve it.
Because it easily captures attention, it’s used on the streets to tell people when, where, and how to cross, to caution unsuspecting passersby about a wet floor or drivers in an accident-prone area.
In nature, sunflowers wear it to attract bees, bees to drive humans away and lemons and mangoes to signal they’re fresh and ready to harvest.
Senses described: smell and taste of lemon
3. Green
Green nurtures life, abundance, and fertility.
It’s anywhere in nature- on trees, on land, and water. Every time you hear the murmur of the river, the breath of air from the mountain, the scent of limes, think of green.
Senses described: sound of the river and singing birds, smell of limes and fresh air, fertility and abundance (symbols)
4. Blue
Blue is unity and strength.
Imagine a single droplet of rain landing on your palm. At first, you’ll think it’s irrelevant and small; it won’t even soak you wet. But when gravity delivers it to the river, then to the sea, that single irrelevant droplet, along with the other droplets, unite. Together, they form this massive collection of droplets called ocean.
Now, imagine yourself in a boat feeling the ocean with your palms. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never touch its surface. That’s blue. It’s a massive collection of small, seemingly irrelevant elements which when united becomes huge and invincible.
Blue colors nations’ flags to symbolize the unity of its people, who, when united, makes a nation strong.
Senses described: feeling of ocean and droplets on the palms (touch)
5. Orange
Feel the heat of the sun on your face. Feel it on your skin during sunrise, sunset and summer. That’s orange. It doesn’t whisper, it screams. It isn’t mild, it’s intense. Because it is very bright, even brighter than yellow, prison camps use it to clothe inmates to make them stand out in case of an escape.
Senses described: feeling of sun’s heat (touch), whisper of orange (sound)
6. Purple
Purple is luxurious and calming.
After a hot day, imagine soaking yourself in a bathtub infused with lavender oil. Smell its fragrance, feel how it relaxes your tensed muscles, indulge in its overall sensation of calm and peace. That’s how purple feels like.
Senses described: smell of lavender, sensation of relaxing muscles
7. White
White is plain and basic yet necessary. Think of water and oxygen. Water is tasteless. Oxygen is invisible. And yet, without them, no humans and animals would ever walk on earth.
At the surface, white may look unimportant and bland, but it is the source of all colors— living and non-living.
Senses described: taste of water (taste), breath of air (touch)
8. Pink
Imagine touching the skin of a newborn baby at the back of your hand. That’s how pink feels like.
If you want to taste it, imagine a eating a fresh baked salmon cooked into perfection. Or a medium rare beef steak. It’s tender, soft and juicy.
Most women prefer is also the favorite color of most women because of its delicate and subtle beauty without being too bold overwhelming like red and orange.
Senses described: touch of a newborn baby’s skin, taste of salmon and tender beef steak
Remember:
- Don’t say, “It’s impossible because he’s blind.” That’s the worst answer you could possibly say.
- The reason why interviewers ask this is to gauge your ability to get creative, and utilize English words to describe and communicate.
- The good thing about this question is that there’s no right or wrong answers. As long as you can support your answer, you’re good.
- Your description doesn’t have to agree with the interviewer’s perception of colors. We all perceive colors differently. What’s important is you associate the colors to the senses he understands.
I hope this post will help you with your interview. Goodluck!
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