Color Blindness & The BBYB System

I have had thousands of people come to me to have their colors analyzed. Many of them have proudly stated that they were colorblind. With skepticism I always ask, “Do you only see black and white”? This is a basic criteria of color blindness. Many then confess they just don't, they see a few colors.

True color blindness is called Achromatopsia: A condition where all cone cells are non-functional or absent, resulting in vision only in shades of gray, black, and white and is very rare.

Only a small percentage of the population experience true color blindness. There is, however, another type of colorblind. It is called Red/Green colorblindness. The cones and rods in the interior of our eyes are responsible for the colors that we see. These vary in each individual and are affected by light, genetics, the chemical make-up of objects being viewed, and the environment surrounding us. That is why we can disagree on colors being viewed. In the case of colorblindness, cones and rods can be damaged or affected at birth. There are two types:

Protanopia: Reduced sensitivity to red light (missing or malfunctioning L-cones).

Deuteranopia: Reduced sensitivity to green light (missing or malfunctioning M-cones).

Celebrities that are affected by red/green color blindness are Keanu Reeves, Howie Mandel, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Twain. Notably Prince William is Red/Green color blind. These people are unable to see the difference between those 2 colors.

If you are a professional offering color analysis, make sure you ask someone who states they are colorblind if they can if they can see some color or cannot perceive color at all. I have found that in my business only about 2 percent can be categorized as truly color blind. These people only see black and white or different shades of gray. All color is absent in their lives.

Grandpa Knapp was one these. Grandma would send him to get oranges and he would come back with lemons. He was always given a harsh scolding by grandma. It was back in the day before people started to understand this phenomena.

When you are talking with people about color or analyzing peoples coloring, make sure you ask the questions when they state proudly, “I am color blind”. It may

not be true. Either way they will have difficulty choosing the best colors for them, but the color dictionaries will help them tremendously.

Renae Knapp

Blue Base/Yellow Base Color System

Intro course on the BBYB Color System