Protanopia is a type of red-green color blindness caused by the absence of long-wavelength (L) cone cells. People with protanopia cannot distinguish red from green and perceive reds as very dark.

What is deuteranopia?

Deuteranopia is the most common form of color blindness, caused by the absence of medium-wavelength (M) cone cells. Greens appear yellowish and reds appear brownish.

Tritanopia is a rare form of blue-yellow color blindness caused by missing short-wavelength (S) cone cells. Blues and greens look similar and yellows may appear pink.

What is achromatopsia?

Achromatopsia (total color blindness) occurs when all three types of cone cells are non-functional. The world appears entirely in shades of gray.

How accurate are the LMS matrix transformations?

The matrices used here are the widely cited Brettel-Viénot-Mollon model (1997) as refined by Machado, Oliveira, and Velho (2009). They are accurate for dichromacy (complete loss of a cone type) but are an approximation for anomalous trichromacy (partial loss).

Is my color data sent to a server?

No. All calculations and Canvas rendering happen entirely in your browser. No data leaves your device.

Color Blindness Simulator

Name: Color Blindness Simulator
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter up to eight hex colors and instantly preview how they look to people with protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, or achromatopsia.

Your Color Palette

Summary

Enter up to eight hex colors and instantly preview how they look to people with protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, or achromatopsia.

How it works

Enter one or more hex color codes (e.g. #E63946) in the palette input fields.
Click "Add Color" to add more swatches — up to eight colors at once.
The tool converts each sRGB color to the LMS cone-response space.
Transformation matrices for protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, and achromatopsia are applied.
The modified LMS values are converted back to sRGB and displayed as color swatches.
Hover any swatch to see the simulated hex code.

Use cases

Audit brand color palettes for accessibility before publishing.
Verify UI component colors are distinguishable under all four deficiency types.
Educate design teams about how color vision deficiency affects perception.
Test chart and data visualization color schemes for colorblind users.
Check whether warning / error colors remain distinguishable from neutral backgrounds.
Validate accessible color pairs for interactive elements like buttons and links.
Review infographic color choices for inclusive communication.
Compare original vs. simulated palette side by side to guide revision.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Last updated: 2026-05-28 · Reviewed by Nham Vu