RGBlind for Chrome

The challenges of being a designer are more consistent than meets the eye since they have to be aware of a multitude of stimuli, many of them not even visible under normal circumstances.

This is because the product they are coming up with must cater to the needs of the public without any parti-pris, which means the designer must see things from the perspective of the consumer, with RGBlind for Chrome being a software solution offering to do just that.

First of all, you need to know that this is a Chrome extension that can simulate color blindness so that designers, web developers, and other professionals know what their website looks like as seen through the eyes of people suffering from a series of color vision deficiencies.

The browser addon is quite easy to interact with, with the user’s only task being to click on its icon in the toolbar, then select the viewing mode.

Their alternatives start with normal vision, which shows the website in its original state and naturally functions as a reference point. Then, there is protanopia, which is the word describing the ocular disease making the eye perceive the brightness of orange, yellow, and red as dimmer than normal.

This leads to situations in which the variations of reds are confused with black or dark gray, with blue and green being quite difficult to distinguish as well. Blues and reds are also hard to differentiate, and the same can be said about mid-greens, all shown in the tests you can carry out using the Chrome addon.

Other than that, RGBlind for Chrome can also simulate the perception of an individual suffering from deuteranopia, which is a similar disease involving difficulties related to hue discrimination. A person suffering from it is likely to confuse bright greens with yellows, mid-reds with mid-greens, pale pinks with light grey, light blues with lilac, etc..

Note that while applying all the restrictions flawing normal vision, the browser addon only affects the currently visited website, with a simple refresh restoring it to default.

On an ending note, RGBlind for Chrome is a handy application can that prove quite helpful when carrying out tests meant to gather info about the experience users suffering from color blindness have when visiting a website. It does not come with many controls and has a fixed purpose, but it does deliver on all fronts, with versions of the program addressed at Firefox  and Opera users being available as well.