The COLOR CODEX series — to which SEMIOVOX has invited 50 of our commercial / applied semiotician colleagues from around the world to contribute — explores the unexpected associations evoked for each of us by specific colors found in the material world. Vol. 1: 2023–24. Vol. 2: 2026–27.

I remember being asked, as a kid, ‘what is your favorite color?’

My older cousin mentioned that green was his favorite color. I had never considered the question, but inspired by my cousin, whom I looked up to, I said ‘green’ as well. For years after that, every time someone asked what my favorite color is, I had an answer locked and loaded: ‘green.’

As I developed into a teenager, the urge to differentiate myself became stronger and stronger. I remembered the unoriginal way in which I had decided on my supposedly favorite color, and increasingly became displeased with my choice. However, I had grown to like green. So instead of throwing it out, I reasoned that my new favorite color should be a shade of green.

Teal, a deep, cool shade of blue-green, has been my favorite ever since.

*

One of my favorite pastimes with Dad is watching movies. Action movies. However, I vividly remember a day when we decided to watch Maid in Manhattan for some reason. Completely outside of our wheelhouse. I had just moved in with my parents after two years earning a master’s degree in France. Great movie, we enjoyed it.

At the end of the movie, my father told me that I would some day get to visit New York City. I was feeling down and uncertain post-COVID, unsure where I’d end up after the blow of being forced to leave France and move back home… so he was giving me a pep talk. This was his way of saying that I’d do great things and had to trust the process.

On April 2nd 2026, I’d visit New York for the first time. I took a ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty. I had done what my dad predicted and my achievement was symbolized by this giant statue. I experienced numerous strong emotions, in that moment, but chiefly I was content and proud to just stand there, staring at an iconic symbol of New York. The color of which is… teal.

COLOR CODEX: Martha Arango (Sweden) on FALUKORV RED | Rachel Lawes (England) on DEVIL GREEN | Audrey Bartis (France) on KYOTO MOSS | Maciej Biedziński (Poland) on SKIN-DEEP ORANGE | Natasha Delliston (England) on MARRAKECH MINT | Whitney Dunlap-Fowler (USA) on RESURRECTION CANARY BLUE | Ximena Tobi (Argentina) on VILLA MISERIA BRICK | Aiyana Gunjan (India) on LETTERBOX RED | Lucia Laurent-Neva (England) on TEAL BLUE VOYAGER | Charles Leech (Canada) on STORMTROOPER WHITE | William Liu (China) on PINING GREEN | Ramona Lyons (USA) on GOTH PURPLE | Greg Rowland (England) on LAUNDROMAT FUTURA | Sónia Marques (Portugal) on RUNAWAY BURRO | Max Matus (Mexico) on CALIFORNIAN BLUE | Chirag Mediratta (Canada / India) on AUROVILLE ORANGE | Alfredo Troncoso (Mexico) on BORGES GLAUQUE | Josh Glenn (USA) on TOLKIEN GREEN | Clio Meurer (Brazil) on PARIS LUMINOUS GREY | Serdar Paktin (Turkey / England) on AMBIENT AMBER | Maria Papanthymou (Russia / Greece) on AGALMATOLITE WHITE | Sarah Johnson (Canada) on ARMY GREEN | Vijay Parthasarathy (USA) on ALPHONSO YELLOW | Tim Spencer (England) on ELECTRO-EROTIC COBALT | Adelina Vaca (Mexico) on MEXICAN PINK | Brian Khumalo (South Africa / USA) on STATUE OF LIBERTY TEAL | Madoka Suganuma (Japan) on BLOSSOM PINK | Susan Bell (Australia) on THAILAND TURQUOISE | Rajan Luthra (India) on AMALTAS YELLOW | Carla Moss (Austria) on EASTERN BLOC GREY | Dora Jurd de Girancourt (France) on JACARANDA PURPLE | Alexandra Ncube (England) on PMDD RED | Katrin Horn (Austria) on PIER BLUE | Ľudmila Lackova Bennett (Czech Republic) on BARBIE PINK | Onaiza Drabu (India) on TBD | Jiakun Wang (China) on GEN Z PURPLE | Manar R. El Wahsh (Canada) on TBD | Gianlluca Simi (Brazil) on TECH BLUE | Gemma Jones (Netherlands) on TBD | Mariane Cara (Brazil) on IPANEMA GOLDGLOW | Su Luo (China) on TBD | Jamin Pelkey (Canada) on TBD | Cathy Maisano (Australia) on TBD | Hyaesook Yang (South Korea) on TBD | Hibato Ben Ahmed (France) on TBD | Eugene Gorny (Thailand) on BUDDHIST RED | Elinor Lifshitz (Switzerland) on TBD | Jessica Hamel Akré (France) on TBD | Iván Islas (Mexico) on MITLA YELLOW | Victoria Gerstman (Scotland) on TBD.

Also see these global semio series: MAKING SENSE (Q&As) | SEMIOFEST SESSIONS (monthly mini-conferences) | COVID CODES | SEMIO OBJECTS | COLOR CODEX | DECODER (fictional semioticians) | CASE FILE | PHOTO OP | MEDIA DIET | TATTOO YOU (semioticians’ tattoos).