Color Vision

Surfing From A Color Blind Perspective

Guest Post by Kristine [lizbeth_laila@yahoo.com]

This article in the Colourlovers blog tackles how certain websites look to color blind individuals. In this blog, the author posted several popular websites and showed how differently these websites looked to color blind individuals and those with normal vision. Interestingly enough, he also posted this Color Blind Web Page Filter where it filters out colors according to the type of color deficiency an individual has.

Being color blind, I naturally couldn't see how well the Filter worked, so I asked one of my web designer friends to try it out for me. While we tested some familiar websites on the Filter, he commented that he never thought the Google logo could look so dull.

He then realized that he could unconsciously be making his websites a little hard to view to certain color blind individuals, and began testing his sites through the filter to make sure it was readable to every viewer, color blind or not.

All-in-all, I'm glad to know that the plight of color blind web users is getting a lot of exposure these days. I hope that means websites will start to look better and better for everyone.

Driving And Red-Green Color Vision Deficiency

Guest Post by Kristine [lizbeth_laila@yahoo.com]

I stumbled upon this blog posted by Steve Pavlina, who suffers from color vision deficiency. On his blog, he posted some interesting topics of his encounters with some minor problems in dealing with everyday life, including the common difficulties with reading traffic lights.

The nightmare of it all! Dealing with three traffic lights is already hard enough to understand for someone with color vision deficiency – how much worse would it be if a certain intersection's traffic lights only had two?

This age-old problem needs to be addressed somehow, as most color blind individuals have trouble recognizing red and green from each other. This poses considerable danger, particularly when an individual drives through a red light.

Click here to read about other common problems that red-green color vision-deficient individuals go through.

Link: Steve Pavlina.com - Colorblindness

Helping Your Child Cope With Being Color Blind

Guest Post by Magnolia – magnoliaf_y@yahoo.com

Finding out if your child is color blind doesn't mean he's in for a difficult life ahead of him. Of course, there will challenges ahead, but these are by no means insurmountable.

It can be frustrating for him not being able to decide between colors or understand traffic signs, but Diane Griffith, a writer for Health AtoZ, has some suggestions on how to overcome the problems and help your child cope with his color vision deficiency.

Your child is bound to confuse the names of colors because he can't identify some of them. When drawing, he may color grass brown because that is how he sees them, or he may display an interesting fashion sense because he can't appreciate color combinations.  

As a parent, you can encourage your child by not talking about colors too much. If you want him to get his pillow, don't say “Please get that red pillow” -- instead, ask for “the fuzzy pillow on the bed” instead. It would also be beneficial for your child if you let his teacher know of his condition as well.    

The more support he gets from his family inside the home, the better his chances of coping outside.

Link: Could Your Child Be Colorblind?

Testing For Color Vision Deficiency

Guest Post by Magnolia – magnoliaf_y@yahoo.com

Getting ready for the first day of school is a very exciting time for a lot of children. They shop for school supplies, their eyes twinkling with excitement as they try to decide which pencils, crayons, and notebooks are the cutest.

But what do you do when you begin to notice your child getting his colors mixed up? When he can't tell between red and green or any other two colors, it might mean that he has some form of color vision deficiency.

According to Prevent Blindness America, an estimated 8% of all males and almost 1% of all females have color vision problems.

If you see your child not being able to identify certain colors no matter what you or his teacher tries, then it may be time to take him to a specialist for an eye check-up. This is important, especially if your family has a history of color blindness. The sooner your child gets tested, the sooner you can take steps to prepare him for the challenges that lie ahead.

Link: Prevent Blindness America

Related: What Teachers, School Nurses, and Parents Should Know About Students Who Are Colorblind

Using The Colors That Work

Guest Post by Magnolia – magnoliaf_y@yahoo.com

Geoff Alday is a user experience designer who recently blogged about his colleague's color vision deficiency.

Mr. Alday said that even when he uses software to gauge whether his designs are visible and attractive to people with color blindness, nothing beats having somebody who can really explain the personal experience. So he asked for his colleague's opinion on a certain project he's making.

Many graphic designers make their projects without considering the needs of users with color vision deficiency. Mr. Alday's colleague couldn't tell between the colors red and green – these colors appear to him as gray. So he sees a red-and-black design as gray-and-black, barely distinguishable from each other.

To solve this problem, Mr. Alday used yellow instead of red so his colleague was better able to appreciate the design. 

It would help us all to be more sensitive to other peoples deficiencies, be it in color vision or otherwise. If one color won't work, there's still a whole color wheel to choose from.

Link: Geoff Alday's post on Color Blindness