Color Universal Design-Analysis of Color Category Dependency on Color Vision Type

The present study investigates the tendency of individuals to categorize colors. Humans recognize colors by categorizing them with specific color names such as red, blue, and yellow. When an individual having a certain type of color vision observes an object, they categorize its color using a particular color name and assume that other people will perceive the color in an identical manner. However, there are many variations in human color vision caused by photoreceptor differences in the eye, including red and green confusion. Thus, another person with a different type of color vision may categorize the color using another name. To address this issue, we attempt to determine the differences in the ranges of colors that people with different types of color vision categorize using particular color names. In the modern urban environment, most visual information, including warning signs and notice boards, is coded by color. Finding the common color categories among different types of color vision is an important step towards achieving Color Universal Design, a visual communication method that is viewer-friendly irrespective of color vision type. Herein we report on a systematic comparison between people with common (C-type) and deutan (D-type) color vision. Analysis of protan (P-type) color vision will follow in a subsequent report.