Colorblindness and the Importance of Colour Measurement

Approximately 300 million people worldwide are colorblind in some way. Most people develop colorblindness through their mother's genetics, as the gene for colorblindness is passed down through the X chromosome. Still, the majority of people who are colorblind are male, with 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women receiving a diagnosis. This is because it is far less likely for someone with two X chromosomes to have both of them contain that gene.

Different Types of Colorblindness

The most common cause of colorblindness is genetics. Most people with the condition are born with it and live with it their entire lives. Occasionally, colorblindness can occur later in life due to eye or brain trauma, medications, or even diabetes. There are three different types of colorblindness:

• Red-green blindness: Red-green colorblindness is the most common form, affecting more than 90% of people who are colorblind. There are four subtypes of this version of colorblindness — protanomaly makes red look green, deuteranomaly makes green look red, and both protanopia and deuteranopia make the colours indistinguishable.
• Blue-yellow blindness: Blue-yellow colorblindness affects the ability to distinguish a range of colours. It also has subtypes. Tritanomaly makes blue and green look alike and yellow and red look alike. Tritanopia makes blue and green, yellow and pink, and purple and red look similar.
• Monochromacy: Monochromacy is also known as complete colorblindness. It's the least common form, leaving the person unable to see any colour at all.

How Colorblindness Can Affect Your Business

So, how does a colorblind person learn colours? Some people who are colorblind learn to differentiate shades and use context clues, but there's no cure for the condition. The closest they may get to seeing the full range of colours is through special glasses or contact lenses.

If you want your business to appeal to the widest range of people, that includes those who are colorblind. Rethink how you use colour in your marketing and how different customer segments will react to certain colour combinations.

If you yourself are colorblind, it may be helpful to invest in tools that help you use the full scope of colours at your disposal.

Invest in Colour Measurement Solutions From HunterLab

Even if you can't see all the colours in your business material, a colour measurement spectrophotometer can. Overcome colorblindness and colour variations that come from different lighting with HunterLab's range of benchtop and portable spectrophotometers.