Ensuring Packaging Accessibility for those with Red-Green Colorblindness: A Case Study

Red-green colorblindness is widespread, affecting up to 8% of men and 0.5% of women, primarily among those of Northern European descent [1]. This color vision deficiency often results in profound difficulty distinguishing between red and green. Medically speaking, the condition is most commonly caused by one of two conditions- protanopia or deuteranopia. Protanopia is the lack of red photoreceptors in the retina, while deuteranopia is the lack of green photoreceptors [1]. For people suffering from this condition, there are certain graphics and images that they may have difficulty understanding or seeing as intended. Given the large number of people affected (at least 300 million people, using current estimates) some research has been conducted to determine ways to improve package designs to ensure they can be more inclusive for those with a color vision deficiency [1]. The first reported method for improving upon these designs was a minor switch in colors, such as substituting magenta for red or turquoise for green [1]. These slight changes make the colors easier to identify as they rely on more than one type of cone or have different luminance/reflections. Additional methods such as strategic use of contrasting colors for emphasis have also been explored to achieve these goals, where these concepts have shown promise in studies attempting to make signs and web pages more accessible [2, 3]. These studies utilized online simulations to model colorblindness and ensure accessibility for the colorblind, but the Variantor Dichromatic Spectacles (VDS) can also be used to show designers how these individuals would see a design in real time. VDS are a wearable simulator relying on special lenses that allow a person with normal color vision to see as though they had red-green colorblindness [4]. VDS could be especially beneficial in designing the marketing used on physical objects, such as product packages, in-store signage, and point of purchase displays. Further, in terms of accessible packaging, there is a paucity of available literature on formatting packages for those with red-green colorblindness, despite the relatively high percentage of consumers with color vision deficiency (up to 4% of the global population) [1], there is substantial potential for increased marketability of specific products should they be re- designed to meet the needs of this consumer population. This study includes a small retail sample using VDS to simulate how people with red-green colorblindness would see packages. From that retail sampling, one item, a premium toothcare product (Colgate Optic White Pro Series),was chosen to be the basis of a case study for a redesign. The researchers sought to redesign the product without changing or abandoning the signature red color, as that is a vital component of the branding and identity of the product. The process utilized commercial software (Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator) to create implementations concepts intended to improve accessibility, such as contrasting colors and usage of outlines. The resulting designs were then evaluated using VDS to help select the most promising candidates for commercialization. The goal of the study was to create a more universally designed package that would maintain brand identity, while being more accessible for those with red-green colorblindness.