How to Describe a Color to a Blind Person using Touch

Using touch to describe colors. Have the person hold certain objects while you tell them what color it is. It might be helpful to consider using objects that are almost always a certain color.
Have the person hold different pieces of wood, touch the bark of a tree, or touch dirt on the ground, and explain that these things are all brown.

Say, "Brown feels like the earth, or the dead parts of things that grew out of the dirt from the earth.”

Give the person some leaves or blades of grass to hold, and explain that these are green. Green feels like the alive parts of plants, because when plants are green that means they are alive. You can even give some dead leaves and explain the difference between green and brown.

Say, “The smoothness and suppleness of the leaves feels like green; green feels like life. But when the leaves are crispy like these other ones, they have turned brown and aren’t alive anymore.”

Have them put their hands in a bowl of cool water, and explain that water is blue. Tell them that small amounts of water are very light blue, almost clear with no color, and large amounts of water, like rivers or the ocean, are very deep blue.

Say, “How you feel when you’re swimming in water, the cool wetness that feels relaxing, is how blue feels.”

Explain that heat, such as a fire or candle flame, or a hot stove burner, is red. Red can usually be thought of as heat, or even a burn.

Tell the person, “If you have ever had a sun burn, your skin turns a red color. Or, if you have felt embarrassed and blushed, that heat on your cheeks looks red.”

Explain that concrete, such as on walls or sidewalks, is grey. Metal is also grey – tell them that grey often feels hard and is either cool or hot depending on if the sun is out.

Say, “Grey is very hard and strong. It feels sturdy like a road under your feet, or the wall that you can lean against, but it isn’t alive and doesn’t grow or have feelings.”