Colours and the power of language

Today I’ve decided to write about a topic that is very personal to me and yet relates in many ways to the work I do and topics I’m passionate about. It’s a great life analogy to the power of language and why it matters. A topic of inclusion that doesn’t get as much coverage as it should, especially in our industry, which is heavily reliant on the power of visuals and how we perceive them.

My 10-year old son, is one of the most curious and intelligent person I know. Born a bi-cultural French and English child, he became fluent in both language at the speed of light (<2 years of age) with an incredible ability to articulate his thoughts, which made me very proud - particularly as the trained linguist I am.

For many years, I’d noticed he’d always pick the purple colouring pens when I asked for the blue ones. Yet he was extremely agile in navigating his colours and correcting his mis-picks. Into his arts and crafts at a very young age, he was always very skilled and produced incredible pieces (like the one displayed here, aged 7).

When I mentioned he might be colour blind, no carer or teacher would believe me because he showed such agility academically and artistically.

We discovered he was colour blind fairly late, having spent some of his young ears in lockdown and only able to see an ophthalmologist in 2021, aged 7.

Looking back, I can say it has been a truly emotional yet enriching journey since, as I learnt a lot about this condition, which isn’t life threatening but can bring some physical, social and development challenges if not approached in a sensitive manner.

Social bias and misconceptions

While not recognised as a disability in the UK (but accepted as one in the US – another interesting cross-cultural dilemma I won’t get into today), it has carried a whole load of misconceptions and social stigmas, which people with this condition have had to face for centuries up until today.

There is very little support both medically and educationally around this condition because it is not life threatening. As a consequence, it gets very little coverage or attention.

1 in 20 people in the world are colour blind and over 90% of them are men. The gene gets transmitted to the child through the mother but tends to affect boys mostly.

Unlike its English word may suggest, most colour-blind people can see colours but they see them differently. Think about applying tainted sunglasses with a blue, a red or a green (or several overlayed) filter and you’ll understand how they may see the world. There are different colour blindness variations, which result in different outcomes of colours and perceptions.

The chart here below illustrates some variations in colour blindness:

(the inner circle shows the full colour spectrum and the outer circle shows how colour-blind people see those colours)

In instances when colour blindness is not identified or well informed, children can be misdiagnosed with learning difficulties, which in turn can affect their confidence and social emancipation later in life.

The power of inclusive language and behaviours

What I found fascinating in our journey as a family is that language hugely impacts the child’s (and later to become adult) confidence and long-term social emancipation and integration.

In English, the term “colour blindness” is misleading as it insinuates that people cannot see colours. Yet, they are not colour “blind” per sé. In French, the term is referred to as “daltonisme” named after John Dalton, the man who discovered colour blindness in 1794. A lot more neutral, it doesn’t set the tone for differentiation, exclusion or disability (as much).

Our son often worried that he was different and that it was a bad thing. It was affecting his confidence so, as a family, we quickly came up with our own term of “colour filter” in English as opposed to “blindness”.

Another great breakthrough was watching a documentary from Sir David Attenborough, which looked into how animals see. That was the day our eldest realised he sees like tigers (and a few other mammals), which has since been his go to when he talks about his condition with friends and strangers – very proudly!

Studies have demonstrated that a lot of world-famous and talented painters such as Monet, Turner, and Blake were colour blind (Van Gogh is also often mentioned but debated). I personally know quite a few colourblind designers in our industry, who are incredibly talented. Truth be told, they develop an incredible skill to work around what they see differently and quickly make sense of what other people see, bringing a huge layer of nuance to their work. They are also often more daring and progressive in their use of colours as a consequence.

Beyond feeding my avid source of curiosity, this personal experience is just another reminder of the power of inclusive language and how it can make a life-long difference to people as well as its greater impact on society.

From being more aware of colour blindness at work (finding different ways to classify than colours) all the way to thinking our designs and creatives through this lens, let’s take today, Colour Blind Awareness Day as an opportunity to be more inclusive!

#colourblindawarenessday #inclusionbydesign