Color

I spent years in the color copy/color printer business - first as a service technician, then as an instructor. 

Early in my career, I attended a Ricoh-sponsored seminar conducted by Dan Collins, a color theory guru and head of the department at Arizona State University.  Like most in attendance, I got most of the basics of what he said, but when he answered questions, even things I thought I understood became mired in technical jargon that flew right over my head.  That seminar left me fascinated and determined to learn more. I won’t claim that I became an expert, but I did learn enough to be able to talk to graphic artists and web designers without appearing to be clueless.

Since retiring, I haven’t given the subject of color theory much thought, but the recent hubbub on line about the black and blue (or gold and white) dress – and my recent experience replacing incandescent lights with LEDs – piqued my interest again.  That’s when I came across this LINKEDIN article by Diana Derval, head of Derval Research and professor at Fudan University, Shanghai, China:

“The color nuances we see depend on the number and distribution of cones (=color receptors) in our eye. You can check this rainbow: how many color nuances do you count?

You see less than 20 color nuances: you are a dichromats, like dogs, which means you have 2 types of cones only. You are likely to wear black, beige, and blue. 25% of the population is dichromat.

You see between 20 and 32 color nuances: you are a trichromat, you have 3 types of cones (in the purple/blue, green and red area). You enjoy different colors as you can appreciate them. 50% of the population is trichromat.

You see between 33 and 39 colors: you are a tetrachromat, like bees, and have 4 types of cones (in the purple/blue, green, red plus yellow area). You are irritated by yellow, so this color will be nowhere to be found in your wardrobe. 25% of the population is tetrachromat.

You see more than 39 color nuances: come on, you are making up things! there are only 39 different colors in the test and probably only 35 are properly translated by your computer screen anyway :)”

Other experts say that there is no reliable online test for tetrachromacy since even the best computer monitor is incapable of a high enough degree of color purity.  They suggest that if you really want to test your color vision, you should try the test linked HERE.