Are Men Color Blind?

One issue we frequently run across in the design field is men unable to see colors as well as women. Some people scoff when I say men are more colorblind than women. So, what’s the truth?

Color blindness affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women (0.5%) in the world.

Israel Abramov, a behavioral neuroscientist at CUNY’s Brooklyn College was curious about how the wiring in the brain influences our perception of color. Three dimensions affect how we visualize color: hue, saturation, and brightness. Hue is the actual color—red, yellow, green, or blue. Saturation is the deepness of the color: emerald green is more saturated than pastel green. Brightness describes the way a color radiates or reflects light.

Abramov asked men and women to break down the hue of a color and to assign a percentage to the categories red, yellow, green, and blue. The results showed that women were more adept at distinguishing between subtle gradations than were men. This sensitivity was most evident in the middle of the color spectrum. With hues that were mainly yellow or green, women were able to distinguish tiny differences between colors that looked identical to men. In fact, Abramov found that slightly longer wavelengths of light were required for men to see the same hues as women—hues identified as orange by women were seen as more yellow by men.

Because less than one half of 1% of women are colorblind and color blindness is rarely discussed or admitted, it makes sense that most men “deal” with the issue by adapting to the way they see the world – literally. Traffic lights, specific jobs, and even the ability to enjoy art can present challenges to a man who literally can’t see the difference between certain colors. Being color blind can make the act of picking paint colors for a project extremely difficult.

Are you a man making selections for a kitchen or bathroom project? Or are you picking out new furniture and bedding? How do you ensure the things you like actually go together and the colors work? Get the advice of a professional, preferably a woman, who can more accurately distinguish between color to make sure your selections are cohesive. Questions? Email me at Jessica@webbercoleman.com