Color blind test,
check your color vision.
Look at each Ishihara-style plate and pick the number you see. You get a detailed report on red-green color vision at the end. No signup, nothing is uploaded.
For best results: set screen brightness to medium or high, turn off night mode and blue-light filters, and sit in normal lighting.
Ready to start?
You will see 12 plates, about 3 minutes. Tap the number you see, or choose “I can't see a number”. At the end you get a detailed report you can print or save as PDF. Do not zoom in or squint. A timer runs while you take the test.
How this color blind test works
Look at the plate
Each plate is made of colored dots. A number is hidden inside, drawn in colors that people with color vision problems may confuse.
Choose your answer
Pick the number you see in a few seconds. If you see nothing, choose “I can’t see a number”. That answer counts too.
Get your result
Get a full report: score, accuracy gauge, type indication, plate-by-plate breakdown and next steps. Plate 1 is a control and is not scored.
Color blindness, or color vision deficiency (CVD), means the eye has trouble telling some colors apart. The Ishihara test, created by Dr. Shinobu Ishihara in 1917, is the best-known way to screen for it. This page uses the same idea with plates generated in your browser, so every plate is a fresh pattern of dots. It is a quick screening, not a medical diagnosis.
How to read your result
| Screening score | Result | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 7 to 8 out of 8 | Normal | No action needed. Retest on another screen if night mode was on. |
| 5 to 6 out of 8 | Possible mild | Retake with filters off, then book an eye exam to confirm. |
| 0 to 4 out of 8 | Possible moderate to strong | See an optometrist or ophthalmologist for a clinical test. |
The three kinds of plates
- Control (plate 1). Almost everyone should see 12. If you miss it, check your screen first.
- Screening (8 plates). One hidden number each. These decide your score.
- Classification (3 plates). Two numbers are hidden, one in reddish dots and one in greenish dots. Which one you see gives only a hint about the type.
Types of color blindness
| Type | What is affected | How common |
|---|---|---|
| Deuteranomaly | Green cones work weakly. Greens look more red. | About 5% of men |
| Deuteranopia | No working green cones. | About 1% of men |
| Protanomaly | Red cones work weakly. Reds look darker and duller. | About 1% of men |
| Protanopia | No working red cones. | About 1% of men |
| Tritanomaly / Tritanopia | Blue-yellow confusion. | Very rare (under 0.01%) |
| Achromatopsia | Little or no color vision. | Extremely rare |
Red-green color blindness is passed down on the X chromosome, which is why it affects roughly 1 in 12 men but only about 1 in 200 women.
Color blindness simulator: see it for yourself
Pick a scene and a type. The left side is normal vision. The right side is an approximation of how a person with that type may see the same scene. Your own photo stays in your browser and is never uploaded.
This is an approximation. Real color vision varies from person to person, and your screen settings change what you see.
Where color blindness shows up in daily life
Traffic lights
Red and amber lamps can look alike.
Helps: learn the lamp order (red on top) and watch the position and brightness.
Charts and dashboards
Red and green lines or bars blend together.
Helps: direct labels, patterns, and pairs like blue and orange.
Cooking and food
Ripe or unripe fruit and meat doneness are hard to judge by color.
Helps: a food thermometer, touch, smell and timers.
Maps and transit lines
Colored lines on a metro map look the same.
Helps: line numbers and names, or a transit app that lists them.
Chargers and LEDs
Red and green status lights are easy to mix up.
Helps: check the battery percentage or blink pattern instead.
Games and apps
Team colors, health bars and alerts can be unclear.
Helps: turn on the color blind mode in the game or app settings.
Clothes and shopping
Brown, green, pink and grey can be mistaken for each other.
Helps: label clothes, buy matching sets, or ask a friend.
Wires and electronics
Wire colors and resistor bands are risky to read by eye.
Helps: a multimeter, printed labels and wiring diagrams.
Why it matters for designers and developers
Around 300 million people live with some form of color vision deficiency. If your UI uses only red and green to show success and error, a large group of users may not notice the difference.
- Add icons, labels or patterns next to color cues.
- Keep a strong contrast ratio between text and background.
- Avoid red-on-green and green-on-brown pairs for charts.
- Test your palette with the color blindness simulator above.
Colors that are often confused
Red, green and brown can look alike with red-green deficiency.
Pink, grey and light blue can merge too.
Color blind friendly design: avoid this, do this
| Avoid | Do instead |
|---|---|
| Showing success or error with color only | Add an icon and a word, like “✓ Saved” or “✕ Failed”. |
| Red and green as the only pair in a chart | Use blue and orange, vary lightness, and add patterns or direct labels. |
| Links that differ from text only by color | Underline links, or make them bold. |
| Low contrast between text and background | Keep at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text and 3 to 1 for large text. |
| A legend that depends on color names | Label lines and bars directly, and use different shapes. |
A red outline is the only sign that something is wrong. Many users will miss it.
The message says what is wrong and works without color.
Tips if you are color blind
Use your device settings
- iPhone and iPad: Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size, Color Filters.
- Android: Settings, Accessibility, Color correction.
- Windows: Settings, Accessibility, Color filters.
- Mac: System Settings, Accessibility, Display, Color Filters.
Menu names vary a little by device and version.
Build simple habits
- Label clothes, pencils and cables, or keep them in a fixed order.
- Use a thermometer for cooking instead of judging by color.
- Ask for color names in words when it matters, and let teachers or managers know what helps you.
- Choose apps and games that have a color blind mode.
- Get a proper eye exam, so you know your type and how strong it is.