New high-tech glasses promise to bring color to the colorblind

Some 300 million people around the world are colorblind and unable to distinguish colors, in particular red and green.

Color For the Colorblind’ is a short documentary produced by paint and coatings industry giant Valspar about the results of a partnership with EnChroma to help people with color blindness experience color for the first time. EnChroma makes glasses specially designed to help colorblind people perceive and discern colors. The glasses don't “restore” color, but uses filters to help enhance the separability of the spectrum that they can see.

From the campaign announcement:

Through a partnership with EnChroma, a manufacturer of color blindness correcting glasses, Valspar is gifting this special eyewear to a number of colorblind individuals while raising awareness about color's impact on our lives.

The #ColorForAll initiative is anchored by a short documentary, titled "Color for the Colorblind," that shares personal stories from four colorblind individuals and their reactions to experiencing color for the first time. The film can be viewed at ValsparColorForAll.com.

"As a company deeply rooted in color, Valspar believes that everyone deserves to see and appreciate the experience that color brings to life," said Joel Wasserman, Director of Brand Integration at Valspar. "Most people don't know what it's like to live in a muted world. We're dedicated to making a change for the better and igniting a conversation around the impact of color."

Individuals who are colorblind or are affected by color blindness are encouraged to share their own stories with #ColorForAll or at ValsparColorForAll.com, where responses will be featured along with additional footage from the film. Some of those submitting stories will receive EnChroma glasses, courtesy of Valspar. Additionally Valspar will be working with art museums across the country offering up the glasses to enable even more people to see color for the first time.

Valspar online:
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest.

About EnChroma, from the PR blurb:

EnChroma is dedicated to positively impacting the lives of the estimated 300 million people worldwide with color vision deficiency. EnChroma has developed a robust line of innovative eyewear products with cutting-edge optical technology for men, women and children. The company is led by a team of seasoned researchers, engineers and technology experts, backed by an advisory board of world-renowned vision scientists. Based in Berkeley, California, EnChroma emerged from a National Institutes of Health SBIR grant designed to study the feasibility of correcting color vision deficiency.

EnChroma online: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube