brown
Let an agent specify brown precisely and understand it as a dark or desaturated warm hue rather than a spectral colour.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Specification Which brown.
Value
Colour space.
Value
Colour value.
- Which exact brown, in which colour space? measurement
- Which named shade? definition
Nature
Why brown is special.
Nature
Perceptual nature.
- Why is brown not a spectral colour? definition
- How does surround change it? boundary
Pigments Making brown.
Earth pigments
Umber, sienna.
Pigment
Pigments.
- Which pigment makes it? definition
- Is it lightfast? measurement
Mixing
From primaries.
Mixing
Mixing.
- How can it be mixed? action
- In which medium? definition
Design Use.
Meaning
Associations.
Meaning
Associations.
- What does brown suggest in this culture? definition
- Is it tied to a brand? boundary
Contrast
Readability.
Contrast
Contrast.
- Does it have enough contrast? measurement
- Does it meet WCAG? boundary
Names Shade names.
Shades
Named browns.
Shades
Named shades.
- What does a named shade such as cork mean? definition
- Which system defines it? provenance
Translation
Across languages.
Translation
Colour words.
- How do languages divide the brown range? definition
- How should names be translated? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.QLT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- stout, putty, cork, amphora, RAL 050 30 30, madder brown, purplish brown, tile red, neon carrot, green-brown, brownish, snuff brown
What it is Filled
A composite colour of dark orange, red or yellow hues with low lightness, seen in wood, soil and leather, with shades from putty to madder brown.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent specify brown precisely and understand it as a dark or desaturated warm hue rather than a spectral colour.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Not a spectral colour; a dark orange or red
- Depends on context and surround
- Common earth pigments
- Stout and cork aliases refer to shades
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Use skin colour to classify or rank people.
- Misreport colour where it matters for safety or quality, such as in food or wiring.
- Present one colour name as universal when languages divide colours differently.
Only with a human decision
- Using colour as a basis for decisions about people.
May
- Name and match shades of brown using a stated colour system.
- Describe the colour of objects in images or samples.
Moral aspects Filled
- Colour terms for skin have been used to discriminate.
- Colour perception differs between people, including those with colour vision deficiency.
Who is affected
- People described by colour
- People with colour vision deficiency
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody: a colour held in common.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1075 - registry parent class
related
- color - hue family
- pigment - earth pigments
- orange and red - hues
- design - application
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.brown
- Wikidata: Q47071 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47071)
- RAL code: 8000 series industrial browns
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Dark warm hues
- Named shades such as cork or madder brown
- RAL and other system codes
- The colour of wood, soil, chocolate and leather.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- specify it in a colour space
- mix it from pigments
- use it in design
- check contrast
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Poor contrast of brown text on dark backgrounds
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- WCAG contrast
Context of use required Filled
- Describing and designing with earthy tones.
- shades: tan, chocolate, umber, sienna
- earth pigments such as umber and sienna
- named shades in colour systems
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q47071: brown - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Brown - general description of the item
Open questions
- Which reference brown should be used?
- How should context-dependence be explained?
- Should earth pigments be separate entries?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q47071/spec.json