Color Perception Test

The Ishihara Color Test is an example of a color perception test for red-green color deficiencies. It was named after its designer, Dr. Shinobu Ishihara, a professor at the University of Tokyo, who first published his tests in 1917.

The test consists of a number of colored plates, called Ishihara plates, each of which contains a circle of dots appearing randomized in color and size. Within the pattern are dots which form a number or shape clearly visible to those with normal color vision, and invisible, or difficult to see, to those with a red-green color vision defect, or the other way around. The full test consists of 38 plates, but the existence of a deficiency is usually clear after a few plates. There is also the smaller test consisting only 24 plates.

The plates make up several different test designs:

  • Transformation plates: individuals with color vision defect should see a different figure from individuals with normal color vision.
  • Vanishing plates: only individuals with normal color vision could recognize the figure.
  • Hidden digit plates: only individuals with color vision defect could recognize the figure.
  • Diagnostic plates: intended to determine the type of color vision defect (protanopia or deuteranopia) and the severity of it.

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