Colour Vision Lab

𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮.

𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 – 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩? 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪!

Royal Canadian Air Force: Operational Colour Vision Study

Researchers at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry are conducting a study to explore how modern colour vision tests relate to colour-critical tasks performed by Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots.

Study Details:
• Two sessions, approximately 2 weeks apart at the School of Optometry
• Each session lasts about 2.5 hours
• Includes colour vision testing and simulated pilot tasks involving colour recognition
Compensation:
• $60 after the first session
• $70 after the second session
Eligibility:
• Age 16–50
• Suspected or known colour vision deficiency

Interested? Contact us:
📧 [email protected]
📞 519-888-4567 ext. 42094 or 46768
📱 SMS: 519-804-8125
School of Optometry and Vision Science
University of Waterloo

This study has received ethics clearance from the University of Waterloo Research Ethics Committee (ORE #: 47200).

Ishihara Colour Vision Test: Identify the number

Cone Contrast Test: Identify the gap in the coloured ring

Waggoner version of Farnsworth D15: Sort the colours

Hi everyone! Here are some of the results from our study on “Color Vision Deficiencies in the Digital Age: A Survey of User Experiences.” This study focused on the impact that red-green color vision deficiencies have on an individual’s interaction with digital displays in different areas of their daily life, such as “school,” “work/volunteering,” “gaming and eSports,” “driving/motorized vehicle,” and “traveling.”

Nearly 400 individuals from Canada and the USA with a color vision defect completed the online survey. Nearly 100% reported some difficulty with at least one of the color-related display tasks in most areas of life. The exception was traveling, where 54.1% reported problems with interpreted colors on digital displays. For most tasks, there were no significant differences in the difficulty rankings based on s*x and/or age group. However, there were some significant differences based on severity, primarily between individuals with mild defects and those with more severe defects. For example, individuals with severe color vision defects ranked interpreting color-coded diagrams, editing photos or other colored images, and reading colored letters on various backgrounds as being more difficult than individuals with a mild color vision defect.

Nearly 65% of respondents reported making changes or implementing modifications to their displays in an attempt to help interpret/use the color information, but there were 35% who did not. The most popular modification was “trial-and-error adjustments” of the color and brightness of the display. Of the individuals who tried an aid, approximately 90% of those who made this modification reported it to be at least a little effective, and 25% rated a modification as highly effective.

This study showed that nearly all individuals with a color vision deficiency encounter problems in interpreting color information on digital displays. Although most respondents have tried some modifications to their displays, only a minority found them to be highly effective. Software and hardware developers need to focus on making aids more accommodating and customizable to individual preferences to provide a more optimal experience to their users.