How We See Color
How We See Color
Do your friends often ask you if you dressed in the dark? Do navy blue and black look the same to you in all lighting conditions? Perhaps red and green just don't exist in your world. If your answer to any of these questions is yes, you may be one of the 15% to 8% of men and 0.5% of women that are born colorblind. Being colorblind is considered the most common genetic defect in humans.
But what is color? According to Wikipedia, "color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors." So the next time someone tells you the light in your eyes in beautiful, be proud to respond, "thanks for noticing!"
Are you ready to put those words to a test? The picture above is of 6 test plates from the Ishihara Color Test. Can you tell what the numbers are? The Ishihara Color Test was designed for assessing the most common form of colorblindness with red green deficiencies. This test normally consists of 24 plates with different designs to determine the type of color perception defect an individual has. You can take the full version of the test here.
As an artist, it was surprising to me how many fellow artist friends are colorblind. I thought of the scene in the movie Local Color where the teacher tells his student to look at the clouds. He pointed out that they were not just white but various colors and shades and that was how he needed to paint them. I thought how hard it must be for artists and designers who have trouble seeing certain colors to create color palettes or mix colors. But I am sure there are many coping devices they have discovered as anyone with a troubling condition uses to overcome their issues. This video is of one man, Neil Harbisson's ability to do just that. He now sees the world through the use of sound.
http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_harbisson_i_listen_to_color.html
Below is a link to a simple hue test on your ability to see differences in color. I scored a 4/100 with a 0/100 being a perfect score . What's your score?
http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?pageid=77&lang=en
I truly could not imagine a world without color. But if you are perhaps one of those that find yourself with the inability to see colors, I hope you find other ways to color your world!
~Nia Andino~