Is It Blue or Green? Why People See Shades of Blue-Green Differently

Abstract blue and green pattern

Teal, cyan, and turquoise are types of blue-green, so there’s no denying that they all contain a blend of blue and green. However, not every shade has an equal balance of blue and green.

A new study revealed that people perceive mixtures of blue and green differently. When looking at multiple types of blue-green, the point at which the colors become bluer and greener differs for each person.

The results are interesting because they indicate that we don’t see colors the same way. Your perception of blue and green might not be the same for the people around you, highlighting that color perception is much more complex than we realize.

What Sparked This Study?

Knitted blue-green blanket on chair with plant

Visual neuroscientist and researcher Dr. Patrick Mineault became intrigued by color perception after a disagreement about a blanket’s color. His wife, ophthalmologist Dr. Marissé Masis-Solano, perceived a blanket in their home differently than he did. She felt the blanket was a type of blue without a doubt, while he insisted it was green.

While most people would’ve shrugged and gone about their day after a conversation like that, Mineault became fascinated. He decided to create an online test using automated code generation tools that could compare other people’s color perception.

The test was created to help better understand how people perceive blue-green colors and whether they perceive shades like turquoise as more green or blue.

How the Test Works

Bright cyan shape pattern

When you visit the website, a full screen of a blue-green color appears. You then need to decide if the color looks more green or blue. The first color is usually very easy to categorize, but then more blue-green colors will appear.

As you keep selecting “blue” or “green,” the colors become more similar to each other to determine exactly where you switch from perceiving blue to green. Even if you think a color looks equally blue and green, you still have to pick one of the two.

At the end of the test, it will tell you what your boundary hue is, meaning where you believe the exact color between blue and green is. It also compares your results to the rest of the population and tells you if turquoise appears blue or green to you.

Even though a color that’s 50% blue and 50% green is technically the color exactly between blue and green, it’s clear that not everyone sees it this way. For some people, shades of blue-green, like teal and turquoise, look more blue, while others see them as more green. This test isn’t meant to prove anyone right or wrong. Instead, it’s used to examine everyone’s unique color perception.

Test Results

Blue to green to yellow color gradient

In this test, green is 120, while blue is 240. So, the test uses colors 150 to 210 to determine whether people think they’re blue or green. The color that’s precisely between blue and green on this scale is 180, which is cyan. However, most people ended up with a boundary hue of 175, which is turquoise. Turquoise is slightly more toward the green side.

So, people who took this test generally believe that cyan is blue even though it’s a perfect mix between blue and green. Even though turquoise is more green than blue, people perceive it as perfectly in the middle.

After only about a month, 1.5 million people visited the site to take the test. Mineault was pleased by the reception but not surprised. He explained that people like to understand how others see the world. So, many people find it fascinating that not everyone perceives colors the same way they do.

The test results didn’t give Mineault and his wife any clarity on their blanket’s color. When Mineault sees a color that has some green in it, it’s green to him, but it still looks blue to his wife. So their blanket will never appear the same color to both of them, but that’s okay because we now know that color perception varies from person to person.

What Does That Tell Us?

People studying phones in front of blue-green wall

The information from this test simply shows that color perception varies greatly among individuals and can be hard to predict. If someone’s results significantly differ from the average, it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with their color vision. It usually means that the person categorizes colors in a unique way. In some cases, it could also be because their device displays colors differently than others.

Many factors play a role in our color perception. Personal experiences, lighting, time of day, type of device used, and the order of colors presented could all have some effect on the results. Thus, if someone takes the test more than once, they may have different results if those factors change.

While this test doesn’t settle whether cyan and turquoise are more blue or green, it’s a fascinating way to learn about other people’s perceptions. Even though these differences in color perceptions are minor, they show that we all see the world differently.

Color Perception Is Complicated

Blue welcome mat says hello

While every object technically has a specific color, that doesn’t mean it will always look the same to us. For example, think about “the dress,” which was a popular online phenomenon in 2015. The image showed a dress that some people saw as white and gold, while others saw it as black and blue. Even though it was actually a blue and black dress, some people couldn’t see it that way even after knowing it.

Color perception will never be cut and dry. Even if Mineault’s blanket is made of a colored fabric that definitely has more green in it, his wife may never perceive it that way. It doesn’t mean either of them is right or wrong about the blanket’s color. It just means they perceive it in different ways.

For some people, the cones in their eyes could affect their color perception. For others, it could be because of past experiences with similar colors. In some cases, other factors change how someone perceives things. So, there are several reasons why one person sees color differently than someone else. Hues close to each other on the color wheel, such as blue and green, are also more likely to get confused because of their similarity.

Culture, languages, and lifestyles could even influence how people perceive colors. For example, people who speak specific languages are often better at distinguishing types of blues because their language has more than one name for blue (a name for light blue and one for dark blue). It doesn’t mean they can actually see more colors than someone else, but when asked to distinguish two shades of blue, they may be quicker than someone with only one word for blue in their language.

While many people want a simple, clear-cut answer in situations like this, the reality is more complex. Color perception is complicated, and many different aspects play a role. That’s why you won’t see every person get the same results in tests like this.

Do Blue and Green Look the Same to All Eyes?

Blue strawberry next to red strawberries on gray surface

People’s color perception may differ, but what about our color vision? When you look at a blue-green shade, does it actually look the same to others? Is the color we call “blue” the same for everyone? Researchers have been exploring this question for a long time.

Color vision scientists Jay Neitz and Joseph Carroll concluded that it’s likely that not all humans see colors the same. Most people can tell when objects such as blueberries, bluebirds, and the sky are the same color. Everyone calls those items “blue.” Yet, each person’s experience of seeing the color blue may be slightly different.

It’s strange to think that some colors might look different to different people, but if that’s how someone else sees them, that’s all they’ve ever known. Research suggests that these differences in color vision don’t change the emotions and symbolism we attach to colors. Colors with shorter wavelengths, like blue, make us feel calm, while colors with longer wavelengths, like red, make us feel alert. Those qualities are consistent even if the colors look different in each person’s vision.

So, while it’s certainly possible that blue and green might physically look different to one person than they would to another, these colors are still called “blue” and “green” no matter how they appear. A person’s unique color vision could influence whether teal and cyan look more green or blue, likely because of how we perceive colors. Our experiences and external factors heavily shape how we distinguish these colors, as Mineault’s blue-green color test indicates.