NPR logo NPR
Special Series

Color Decoded: Stories That Span The Spectrum
NBC employees change Nebraska to red in the electoral map of the United States in 2008. All the TV news operations, including NBC News, settled on red for Republicans and blue for Democrats in 2000.

NBC employees change Nebraska to red in the electoral map of the United States in 2008. All the TV news operations, including NBC News, settled on red for Republicans and blue for Democrats in 2000. Mary Altaffer/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Mary Altaffer/AP

The Color Of Politics: How Did Red And Blue States Come To Be?

The United States split into red states and blue as we know them just a few presidential elections ago. Some dislike the broad brush.

Listen Loading… 4:04
Phil Stanton (from left), Chris Wink and Matt Goldman are the founders of the theatrical performance troupe Blue Man Group.

Phil Stanton (from left), Chris Wink and Matt Goldman are the founders of the theatrical performance troupe Blue Man Group. Jemal Countess/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Sacred, Sad And Salacious: With Many Meanings, What Is True Blue?

In medieval art, Virgin Mary was cloaked in blue. In Colonial America "blue laws" made it illegal to buy alcohol on Sunday. And more recently, irreverent blue humor made blue the most off-color color.

Listen Loading… 6:23
This is a re-creation of a color plate from Interaction of Color, by Josef Albers. The two X's are are exactly the same — it's the different backgrounds that make them look like very different colors.

This is a re-creation of a color plate from Interaction of Color, by Josef Albers. The two X's are are exactly the same — it's the different backgrounds that make them look like very different colors. Source: Josef Albers Interaction of Color hide caption

itoggle caption Source: Josef Albers Interaction of Color

Shots - Health News

These X's Are The Same Shade, So What Does That Say About Color?

Never mind the physics. Color isn't just a particular wavelength of light, it turns out. It's a fascinating mix of context and what's happening outside and inside your head.

Listen Loading… 7:41
An employee at a frozen foods company in eastern Germany checks carrots for quality.

An employee at a frozen foods company in eastern Germany checks carrots for quality. Michael Urban/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Michael Urban/AFP/Getty Images

Whether Green With Envy Or Tickled Pink, We Live In A Color-Coded World

Red means stop; green means go. You live in a red state or a blue state. Elizabeth Blair kicks off NPR's color series with a look at the way color organizes our lives — in ways we don't even realize.

Listen Loading… 4:47
Photographer JeongMee Yoon felt her daughter's life was being overtaken by pink. She illustrated that in her 2006 portrait Seo Woo and Her Pink Things.

Photographer JeongMee Yoon felt her daughter's life was being overtaken by pink. She illustrated that in her 2006 portrait Seo Woo and Her Pink Things. JeongMee Yoon/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Jenkins Johnson Gallery hide caption

itoggle caption JeongMee Yoon/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Jenkins Johnson Gallery

Fine Art

Girls Are Taught To 'Think Pink,' But That Wasn't Always So

After World War II ended, Rosie the Riveter traded in her factory blues for June Cleaver's pink apron. A new exhibit traces pink back to the beginning — when plenty of boys wore it, too.

Listen Loading… 5:21
A painter touches up one of the bridge's cables. When it came time to decide the paint color for the bridge, consulting architect Irving Morrow wanted a warm hue to contrast with the cool grays, blues and greens of San Francisco Bay.

A painter touches up one of the bridge's cables. When it came time to decide the paint color for the bridge, consulting architect Irving Morrow wanted a warm hue to contrast with the cool grays, blues and greens of San Francisco Bay. Courtesy of goldengatebridge.org hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of goldengatebridge.org

Radio Pictures

The Golden Gate Bridge's Accidental Color

In the 1930s, the now-iconic hue "international orange" was a radical choice, originally meant to serve only as the primer.

Listen Loading… 6:14
Maggy Rozycki Hiltner's Hothouse Flowers, made of found fabrics, is one of many works on display in the Textile Museum's Green: The Color and the Cause exhibit in Washington, D.C. Click here to see the full textile.

Maggy Rozycki Hiltner's Hothouse Flowers, made of found fabrics, is one of many works on display in the Textile Museum's Green: The Color and the Cause exhibit in Washington, D.C. Click here to see the full textile. Virginia Spragg/ hide caption

itoggle caption Virginia Spragg/

Fine Art

Celebrating Green: As Color, As Concept, As Cause

Green has taken on many meanings — envy, ecology, money and more. A new exhibition at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., salutes the color of spring, and all that it has come to symbolize.

Listen Loading…