What Color is That Anyhow?

As a designer, I spend my days dreaming up fabulous color combinations. I'm intrigued by the way colors play with one another, when placed next to each other. Opposite colors have a sort of "electric" effect, while those in the same hue but of different tones can have a calming effect. Of all the possible elements of design, color is my very favorite.

Now, imagine not being able to see color the way you do... if you were color blind. I confess, I'd not given that much thought to it, beyond basic accessibility issues... until I found this web site: Vischeck.

Check individual images, or feed a URL into their form, and see what it comes up with. I tried it on StudioClaire.com (my portfolio site), and was surprised by what I saw!

I guess that until the day when someone recovers from color blindness and is able to compare before and after versions, we will never know exactly how differently we each view the same colors, tones and hues, but this online tool might give us a sneak peek at visual impairment!