Inter-Society Color Council

What Inter-Society Color Council does

The Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC) is a non-profit professional membership society founded in 1931 and headquartered in Washington, DC. It is described in its own materials as the principal interdisciplinary society in the United States dedicated to sharing color research and best practices across four domains: science, industry, design/arts, and education. The organization is explicitly 100% volunteer-run, with no paid staff; all operations, including event organization, publications, and member services, are managed by volunteers.

ISCC's product surface is knowledge- and community-oriented rather than technology-oriented. Its portfolio consists of the annual Color Impact conference, the quarterly Cutting Edge Color webinar series, monthly Fluorescent Fridays student networking events, Colorful Connections virtual member networking, and the Colour Literacy Forum (a joint educational initiative with the International Association of Colour). It also publishes a quarterly ISCC News newsletter and partners with Wiley on the peer-reviewed journal Color Research and Application, and runs a Student Support Grant program with biannual application cycles. There is no proprietary technology, software platform, or AI component disclosed. The organization is supported by Wild Apricot membership software and operates a website, email newsletter, and presence across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

The business model is subscription/dues-based: annual membership is priced at $50 per year, providing access to the quarterly publication, discounted journal subscription rates, discounted conference and event registration, and member-only event recordings. Some events are open to non-members at higher rates. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The customer base is fragmented across individual color professionals and students worldwide; no enterprise customers, sponsors, or commercial logos are referenced. The organization is independent, has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding rounds, and no M&A activity on record.

Name

Inter-Society Color Council

Legal name

Inter-Society Color Council

Website

https://iscc.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Inter-Society Color Council is a 100% volunteer-run, 1931-founded U.S. non-profit membership society that advances color research and education across science, industry, design/arts, and education through conferences, webinars, publications, and student grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Membership Society

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

Keywords

• Color science research
• Professional membership society
• Interdisciplinary color education
• Color research publication
• Color science conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The organization operates as a membership-based professional society. Annual membership provides access to quarterly publications, event recordings, and discounted registration rates for conferences and webinars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC) is a volunteer-run, non-profit professional membership society that delivers color research knowledge and best practices through an annual conference (Color Impact), quarterly and monthly webinars/networking events, a peer-reviewed quarterly journal (Color Research and Application, in partnership with Wiley), a quarterly member newsletter (ISCC News), and student grants. Membership is offered at $50 per year to individual color professionals working across science, industry, design/arts, and education, granting access to publications, event recordings, and discounted event registration. The society also jointly operates the Colour Literacy Forum with the International Association of Colour to develop free 21st-century color education resources.

Product overview

The Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC) is a professional membership organization, not a technology product company. It functions as an interdisciplinary society dedicated to advancing color research through educational programs, events, and publications rather than software products. The portfolio consists of in-person and virtual conferences (Color Impact), recurring webinar series (Cutting Edge Color), student-focused networking events (Fluorescent Fridays), general member networking (Colorful Connections), an educational forum (Colour Literacy Forum in partnership with the International Association of Colour), and scholarly publications including the Color Research and Application journal and ISCC News newsletter. The organization also offers Student Support Grants for color-related academic activities. All offerings center on knowledge sharing and professional networking across science, industry, design/arts, and education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Color Impact: Conference/symposium focused on color research and applications
• Fluorescent Fridays
• Colorful Connections
• Cutting Edge Color
• Color Literacy Forum

Products and services

• ISCC Membership Program Annual individual membership ($50/year) for color professionals across science, industry, design/arts, and education. Provides access to the quarterly ISCC News newsletter, the Color Research and Application journal at discounted rates, member-only event recordings, and discounted registration for ISCC conferences and webinars.
• Color Impact Conference Annual in-person symposium featuring keynote speakers, presentations, workshops, short courses, and field trips for color professionals across all four ISCC pillars. Open to both members and non-members with tiered pricing.
• Cutting Edge Color Webinar Series Quarterly live webinar series featuring presentations on color research and applications from professionals across various specialties. The public is invited to register for live events; recordings are available to members.
• Fluorescent Fridays Monthly virtual networking events connecting university students and color professionals worldwide to share state-of-the-art research and discuss color's diverse roles and applications.
• Colorful Connections Virtual online happy hour networking events for ISCC members to socialize, network, and discuss wide-ranging topics related to color across diverse fields of study.
• Colour Literacy Forum Educational forum operated as a joint project between ISCC and the International Association of Colour, building a foundation for 21st-century color education. Teaching guides and resources are available for free download through colourliteracy.org.
• Color Research and Application Journal Peer-reviewed academic journal covering color science research, published in partnership with Wiley. Published monthly; ISCC members receive a deep discount on subscription.
• ISCC News Newsletter Quarterly newsletter featuring member news, color research articles, society updates, and book reviews. Included as a benefit of ISCC membership.
• Student Support Grant Grant funding program with semi-annual deadlines (May 15 and October 15) designed to assist undergraduate and graduate students with activities pertaining to color. Open for individual application.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• International Association of Colour (AIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project partnership on the Colour Literacy Project, a collaborative initiative building a new foundation for 21st century color education. ISCC and AIC jointly develop teaching guides and resources available for free download through colourliteracy.org.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Council for Optical Radiation Measurements (CORM): Professional body for optical radiation measurement science. CORM is referenced as a joint-conference partner with ISCC and addresses an overlapping membership of color and light measurement specialists.
• TAGA (Technical Association of the Graphic Arts): Technical association for printing and graphic arts research. TAGA co-hosts joint conferences with ISCC and serves overlapping members working in color reproduction and print quality.
• Color Marketing Group (CMG): Member-based association forecasting color trends across design, industry, and manufacturing. CMG is the industry's commercial-color counterpart to ISCC's scientific-color community, addressing overlapping designer and industry audiences.
• International Association of Colour (AIC): Global interdisciplinary body for color science and application. AIC is ISCC's direct international counterpart and joint partner on the Colour Literacy Project, serving the same cross-disciplinary professional audience.
• Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T): Professional society advancing imaging science across capture, print, and display. ISCC jointly hosts conferences with IS&T and the organizations share overlapping membership in color, printing, and imaging research.

Broad incumbents

• Optica (formerly Optical Society of America): Major global society for optics and photonics research. Optica is the broad-incumbent counterpart to ISCC in optical/color science, offering a wider portfolio including color-related publications and conferences.
• Illuminating Engineering Society (IES): Established U.S. society for lighting and illumination science. IES addresses light and color at scale as part of a broader lighting portfolio, serving a member base that overlaps with ISCC's industry segment.

Emerging players

• Munsell Color Science Laboratory: Academic color-science research lab at Rochester Institute of Technology. Munsell Lab is a research-focused counterpart to ISCC, producing color science work and training next-generation color scientists that flow into ISCC membership.

Others

• Pantone: Commercial standards authority for color reproduction and design. Pantone is the most recognized brand in color globally and represents the industry-facing commercial counterpart that sits adjacent to (rather than competes with) ISCC's scientific community.

Regional players

• Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC): UK-based professional body for color in textiles and dyeing. SDC is the international peer society for color science applied to industry, comparable in mission but rooted in a different geography and sector emphasis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/InterSocietyColorCouncil
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDJGjaswh-NAmUt5lmQHgEg/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/InterSocietyColorCouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/color-council
• Instagraminstagram.com/color_council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inter-Society Color Council