Category Archives: news

good to be colour blind

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Colour blindness is mainly a male affliction. Something like 8% of all men in the world are colour blind though, as I have mentioned before, this doesn’t mean that they cannot see colour but, rather, means that their colour discrimination is not as good as that of so-called normal observers (the rest of us, in common vernacular). See my earlier post. So we normally think of colour blindness as being something undesirable, something that ideally we would like to be able to cure.

Interesting then that new research at Anglia Ruskin University has suggested that colour blindness may even be an advantage. The study was led by Dr Andrew Smith and showed that colour-blind monkeys (tamarins, to be exact) were better than their ‘normal’ counter-parts at catching camouflaged insects (such as crickets). I guess what this means is that the camouflage is designed (I guess I should say, has evolved) to be effective when viewed by normal tamarins. So the colour-blind tamarins may be better off in some sense.

Dr Smith is also quoted as saying that there is some evidence that, in humans, dichromats (who have two classes of cone rather than three) may see better in dim light than trichromats. For further information see http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/academia-a-research/13403-colour-blind-monkeys-have-advantage-in-catching-camouflaged-prey.

changing eye colour

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On my way to CIC – my favourite colour conference – http://www.imaging.org/IST/conferences/cic/.

A six hour lay-over in Chicago so no excuse not to make a few posts. The first interesting bit of news I just came across is a story in the BBC about a doctor who seems to have developed a laser technique to change eye colour.

Apparently 20 secs of laser treatment can remove the pigment in eyes so that brown eyes become blue. You can read more about the story here. Don’t try this at home though – they are still conducting safety tests and some experts think the treatment could lead to other health problems.

yellow is the new red

culture, design, fun, news, , , , , , ,

 

 
I am not the world’s expert on fashion but it seems that red has been popular all through spring and summer. I first came across the surge in popularity of red last year when a journalist contacted me to ask my opinion as to why there had been an increase in sales of red kitchen and personal electronic equipment. We both agreed that probably the choice of red may be caused by consumers using colour choice to be bold and energetic in contrast to feeling tied down and depressed by the financial recession. I then listened to the podcast for Spring 2011 on Color Outlook and learned that red has been a popular colour for interior design this year right across the USA.
 
Now it seems that red has been a popular fashion colour all summer but is due to be replaced in the autumn (or the fall, as some people strangely call it) by yellow; another vibrant and positive colour. For further details see the Babble blog.
 

meanings of car colours

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I came across another study on which colours sell best, commissioned by a car company of course. Turns out that in Canada the most popular is silver/grey (22.3%) with black second favourite.

But more interesting what the second part of the study which purported to reveal what your choice of car colour says about you:

Silver: “Since silver and grey are technical colours, they communicate a sense of aspiration and at times, an embrace of futurism.”

Black: “Overall black communicates strength, aspiration and a respect for the classic and the elegant.”

Blue: “Darker blue is perceived as more traditional. However, a bright or light blue is the opposite and is seen as the least ‘classic’ of the other colour groups.”

Red: “A colour which screams sporty and energetic but in certain shades can also be associated with distinction.”

White: “White is clean and modern. Premium specialty whites (also known as ‘tri-coat whites’) are also associated with luxury and ‘premium-ness,’

My experience of buying cars though is that though I may have a preference for buying a car of a certain colour, since I normally buy a second-hand one, in the end it is just what is available in the model I would like (or close to it) and the price I would like to pay (or just above it). My current car is black. My last one was grey. I have also had white and maroon in the last 10 years. So don’t read too much into it.

 

color outlook

design, news, professional, , , , ,

I was interested to come across Color Outlook today – http://coloroutlook.com/ – a website that offers advice on colour trends. They offer quarterly 60-minute long podcasts that contain advice and knowledge from a consortium of colour experts. I can’t comment on what is in the podcasts because unfortunately they are not free 🙂 However, the credentials of the experts seem impressive indeed; from interior designers, through architectural consultants and artists, to colour psychologists. Lori Sawaya is the name that I am most familiar with. I don’t know her well but she seems a friendly and genuine person.

Though the podcasts are not free, there is a free podcast on the history of colour forecasting and trends so I am going to see if I can get that and have a listen. I will let you know what I think.

colourful ants

fun, news, , , ,

Not sure what to say about this but I really like this picture. A scientist in India has experimented with ants whose transparent abdomens show the colour they have eating. He noticed they went white after drinking milk and then gave them sugar solutions coloured with different dyes. Apparently fond that ants preferred yellow and green solutions – perhaps these are better associated with sweetness. For the full story and some more great pictures see http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022765/The-ants-multi-coloured-abdomens-exactly-theyve-eating.html

colour preferences

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Many studies have been carried out over the last century or so on colour preferences. These generally reveal some quite remarkable consistencies. For example, although there are individual differences, on average people tend to like cooler colours (blues and greens) more so than warmer colours. I have been conducting my own – just for fun – survey on these pages (see http://colourware.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/favourite-colour-poll/) for the last few months: I asked people which colour they would prefer out of green, brown, yellow, orange, black, red, pink, purple, white, grey, blue and other. So far 45% of respondents have selected blue or green.

Whether gender or cultural affect colour preferences is more controversial although many studies have indicated that they may. The most significant work I know of in this regard is that published in Current Biology (2007) by a team lead by Anya Hurlbert of Newcastle University that adds substantial weight to the idea that there are statistically significant differences in colour preferences between males and females. Hurlbert’s team found that females prefer redder blues (tending towards pinks and red) than males. It is also suggested that the gender differences result from biological rather than cultural factors. Perhaps evolution favoured females who were better able to discriminate between ripe and unripe fruit or who could better discriminate between colours of faces.

If you are interested in this you may like to take part in a new global colour survey being carried out by one of my PhD students. You can see the survey here – https://www.keysurvey.co.uk/survey/365495/1a02/