Eleven Colors That Are Almost Never Confused

Robert M. Boynton

doi:10.1117/12.952730

15 August 1989 Eleven Colors That Are Almost Never Confused

Robert M. Boynton

Proceedings Volume 1077, Human Vision, Visual Processing, and Digital Display; (1989) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.952730
Event: OE/LASE '89, 1989, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

1.1. Three functions of color vision. Setting aside the complex psychological effects of color, related to esthetics, fashion, and mood, three relatively basic functions of color vision, which can be examined scientifically, are discernable. (1) With the eye in a given state of adaptation, color vision allows the perception of signals that otherwise would be below threshold, and therefore lost to perception. Evidence for this comes from a variety of two-color threshold experiments. (2) Visible contours can be maintained by color differences alone, regardless of the relative radiances of the two parts of the field whose junction defines the border. For achromatic vision, contour disappears at the isoluminant point. (3) Color specifies what seems to be an absolute property of a surface, one that enhances its recognizability and allows a clearer separation and classification of non-contiguous elements in the visual field.

Citation Download Citation

Robert M. Boynton "Eleven Colors That Are Almost Never Confused", Proc. SPIE 1077, Human Vision, Visual Processing, and Digital Display, (15 August 1989); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.952730

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