Does Colour Perception Change Over Time?

Every person perceives colour differently. A unique combination of genetics and circumstances influences each individual's connection to and view of various hues. If you've ever had the experience of talking with an older adult and disagreeing on the colour you're both seeing, you may find yourself questioning whether colour perception changes with age — and sometimes, it can.

Differences in Colour Perception

Some of the reasons you may perceive a different colour than the person next to you may include:

• Genetics: The most well-known reason for differences in colour perception is genetics. Colour blindness affects one in 12 men and one in 200 women, usually due to a genetic marker in the X chromosome.
• Culture: Different geographical locations place varied emphasis on colours, combining hues like blue and green or navy and black into one word in their languages. Some languages have even more words to describe different shades.
• Trauma: Occasionally, injury or illness can bring on partial blindness or colorblindness that affects colour perception. Common causes include brain or eye injury or an illness like diabetes.
• Age: While your perception of colour may remain the same for most of your life, your eyesight can begin to change and deteriorate as you age. Some people develop a yellowish tint to their vision, most often after age 70, which can affect their ability to differentiate between shades of yellow, blue, and green.

What Changes in Colour Perception Mean for You

While colour perception has been shown to change with age, the difference is subtle for most people. They can still see many of the same colours, if a bit muted or muddy. Still, depending on your target market, changes in perception are certainly a factor to consider as you create branding and marketing materials.

As you develop your brand, you've likely learned how integral colour psychology can be in appealing to your demographics. You want to show off your corporate personality and appeal to the audience you target. While there is no right answer to how you should appeal to consumers, knowing some of these general facts about colour perception can be helpful:

• Women tend to prefer muted, tinted colours.
• Men often like bright or shaded colours.
• Many older adults appreciate soothing colours like blue.

Perfect Your Colour Perception With Solutions From HunterLab

Once you decide on the ideal colours for your business, you'll want to keep them consistent across all platforms and materials. HunterLab's selection of spectrophotometers is designed to do just that. Our tools will assist you in colour reliability and quality assurance throughout every project.