29.2 Perception of colour

How colours are perceived depends on an individual’s eyesight and experience and on the ambient lighting. Human perception varies. In 2015 a photograph of a dress became a big topic online as people disagreed whether it was blue and black or white and gold (“the dress”). Some people are better at discriminating between colours than others. There is some suggestion that women are able to identify more colours than men, seeing different shades where men see a single colour. Some people have strong associations with particular colours. The scene in “The Devil Wears Prada” where Meryl Streep takes Anne Hathaway to task for saying two belts look the same is a good example (and can be found on YouTube as the cerulean scene). A more academic reference is Mohammad (2011).

Colour perception changes depending on surrounding colours and can change over time. Solving a jigsaw puzzle is one example. At first the pieces may be sorted by major colours. Later on, various light blues of the sky may be almost as easily sorted, when these are the only pieces left.

The medium with which colours are viewed is also influential. A display on one computer screen may look different on another, and look different again in print. Ambient conditions, especially lighting, are important. All these factors can have unpredictable effects, yet there is still plenty of good advice to follow.