Colors – How humans interpret colors?

Humans perceive colors through color vision

Humans and other organisms with eyes have a capacity to distinguish objects based on the wavelengths of the light reflected. There are cone photoreceptors in the eye. The visible spectrum in humans ranges from 380 to 750mm. Normally there are three types of cones in a human eye.

In essence, a red apple doesn’t emit red light. It normally absorbs all the frequencies of a visible light reflecting on it except for a group of frequencies that are perceived as red. These frequencies are reflected. So the apple is perceived to be red by the human eye because a human eye can distinguish between different wavelengths.

In graphic design, you have to be careful with colors because some colors are major eye irritants which can eventually force a person to look away. A human eye can see 7,000,000 colors. Some of the colors are eyesores. In fact, certain colors and color relationships can cause headaches, eye irritants and cause havoc with human vision. While some colors have a soothing and calming effect. In graphic design, appropriate use of the colors can maximize productivity and minimize visual fatigue while relaxing the whole body.

The major eye irritants are Bright Yellow, Red and Bright Purple. It is a proven scientific fact that more light is reflected by bright colors. Kids cry more in Yellow rooms, opera singers throw more tantrums in yellow dressing rooms. You should be careful with bright colors such as Yellow. Yellow is the major eye irritant and a bright lemon yellow can devastate a human eye. The Traffic signs are in Yellow which warns people of the dangers ahead of them. The nuclear sign is often displayed on a yellow background to intensify the seriousness of the situation. As a graphic designer, you can use yellows to get attention and impart an important message. Black on Yellow is noticed earlier. Consider using Yellows in logos. You can highlight something with a yellow to grab attention.

The size of the area that any color occupies determines the effect of a color. Softer tints are less irritating compared to full bright colors. For better results, use softer tints of the hue or small quantities of color.

Red is another major eye irritant. You might have heard the phrase “I am so angry that I literally see red.” Bright red color irritates your eyes to the point that your brain starts the healing process immediately to reduce the intensity of the light reflected by bright red. To prove the point, I have included a test in this article. There are two boxes here. Concentrate on the red box with a black dot in the center. Concentrate on the back dot for 30 seconds. Don’t take your eye away from the black dot and only thing you should see is the black dot. After 30 seconds, concentrate on the black dot in the white box. What do you see?

As you concentrate on the black dot in white box, you will see a blue or bluish green tint in the white area. When the red cones in your eye loose sensitivity, the opposite color cones kick in and soothes your eye.

The soothing colors can be used to relax mind and the body. The light blue color reflects sensitivity and soothes your mind and body. You can use blue, green, dark orange and dark purple to win the trust of the viewer. Using the combination of light colors soothes the eye of the viewer while bright ones alert them and cause irritation.

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