In the Bezold effect, the colors remain the same in reality, but the perception of their tone and color changes in the mind of the recipient (pixels).

From time to time, some posts appear that leave social media users extremely confused. They spread quickly and usually begin with the question, “What color do you see?”, whether it is for a dress, wardrobe, shoes, or anything else, to begin a state of extreme astonishment. Some people see a color. While others see a completely different color for the same image, a difference that can be explained according to the so-called “Bezold effect” or “color illusion.”

Illusion or hoax?

A picture of a seemingly ordinary closet in a house still raises a lot of confusion about its true colours. While some saw it as blue with black drawers, others saw it as white with gold drawers, which led to the image being widely spread and the division deepening further, just as happened before with A dress that confused social media users as to whether it was really white and gold, or blue and black? Thus, confusing images are repeatedly spread from time to time, depending on the famous effect.

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"What Color Do You See: Pink & White or Blue & Grey?" pic.twitter.com/YE6fH4g6Na

- James I Feel God Brownᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@ifeelgod) June 7, 2022

What's the story behind the Bezold effect?

The "Pezold Effect" is attributed to German meteorologist Wilhelm von Pezold, who died in 1907, who accidentally realized something interesting while carrying out a personal home decor project of his own.

The story began when Bezold needed a colorful rug, but he was confused for a while as he noticed that choosing a specific color every time changed the overall image of the place and changed his perception of the rest of the colors.

The matter did not go unnoticed by the meteorologist, as he subjected the matter to research, so he conducted a series of experiments by adding and subtracting certain colors. He was able to observe how changing one color could cause the entire design to change, and his mind to perceive the rest of the colors, which later became clear. It changes from one person to another.

There is a special type of visual mixture whose perception may differ from one person to another (Shutterstock)

The Bezold effect is called the assimilation effect, and it is an optical illusion, where the colors remain the same as they are in reality, but the perception of their shade and color changes in the mind of the recipient, each according to his perception and flexibility in absorbing the combination of colors. Thus, the Bezold effect leads to the fact that what people see depends entirely on It depends largely on how their brains process incoming visual information and not on colors in reality. There is also an additional reason for color perception to differ visually as well, as is the case following vision correction surgery (LASIK).

This is how the Bezold effect haunts you.

The Bezold effect is linked to many everyday experiences, from the thin black or white lines surrounding advertising texts on the road, which influence the audience’s perception of those words, to interior designs that exploit that influence, and the use of certain colors to create designs that are more visually attractive and more contrasting.

The issue seems to be greater when it comes to e-commerce, with dozens of complaints about the difference in the color of the product after its delivery compared to the one that was displayed on the site. That is why a study was conducted at the Politecnica de Valencia University in Spain in 2021, to determine the form of assistance that the computer can provide to analyze the effect of Bezold in... Color samples.

The study concluded that industrial sectors in which the appearance of products (such as textiles and ceramics) is a key factor for success are largely affected by the Bezold effect, and therefore a program was created that provides an innovative way to detect the degree of the Bezold effect of an electronically displayed image, but the aforementioned program is still under development at The hands of study researchers Guillermo Pires Fajarnes and Maria Moncho Santoña.

The Bezold effect is called the assimilation effect and it is an optical illusion (social networking sites)

The matter does not stop there, as the Bezold effect reaches a degree of seriousness that can affect choices within the cockpit of the aircraft, as the design of the control screens in the cockpit in a specific way leads to the pilot being confused about some choices of the screen.

A study conducted in 1986 pointed to a group of problems facing the American Air Defense Forces due to the colors displayed on screens and the difference in their perception from one person to another according to the Bezold effect. Accordingly, a set of details were taken into account to ensure that the interpretation of color does not differ from one individual to another, by adjusting Brightness, ambient light, spectral characteristics of displays, and choice of colors, sizes, symbols, format, resolution, and size are not subject to interpretation.

What color do you see?


RT – Pink and White


Fav – Blue and Gray pic.twitter.com/acPdLlfTiN

— Karolis (@KaroIis_) May 6, 2018

Your guide to exploiting the “color illusion”

Josef Albers says in his book “Interaction of Colors” that there is a special type of visual mixture whose perception may differ from one person to another, and that replacing one color in a design leads consequently to the transformation of all other colors in the design, and even changing the composition, character, spatial perception, and weight. Color relationships do not change equally, that is the key, so some tricks can help you better perceive the color illusion and then exploit it.

In her article, artistic designer Alphaline Lundgren mentions a set of steps to exploit the illusion of color:

  • If you want a lot of energy in the design, you can make a number of color replacements until you achieve the desired amount of energy.

  • If you want to balance large areas of dark and heavy colors, you can use a small amount of bright or muted colors.

  • If you want to focus attention on a specific element in the design, you can use a color that contrasts in value and degree of saturation.

Source: websites