This is the area of everyday life where people with normal colour vision are aware that colour blind people will have difficulty and it is the area where most schools do actually take some action to try and help their colour blind pupils. Colouring pencils and paints might be labelled with the name of the colour and teachers are likely to give their colour blind pupils some leeway if the colours they use for their artwork look rather strange. Some famous artists such as Constable, Picasso and Van Gogh are thought to have been colour blind and yet were very successful. Many colour blind people appreciate and enjoy creating art and there are some fantastic colour blind artists, photographers and illustrators such as Loren Long (illustrator for Barack Obama) and children’s author Steve Antony.
Colour blind people are less likely to choose to study art/design/graphics/web design because they recognise that they are likely to be at a disadvantage when compared to colour ‘normal’ students. However, there are many colour blind people working as artists, in design, printing, web design, architecture and similar careers who manage to cope with by taking advantage of computer software designed to identify pantone colours etc. and with the occasional help of their peers.
If you are colour blind don’t let your condition put you off pursuing these types of career!
