Seattle is known for its stunning natural beauty, lively neighborhoods, and top-notch cultural attractions — making it one of the most vibrant cities in the world. Its many hues turn technicolor during Refract: The Seattle Glass Experience, the city’s famous art glass festival. But for some visitors, experiencing these shades poses a challenge.
To ensure more visitors can enjoy the magic of the Emerald City—especially while Refract is in town—Visit Seattle has partnered with EnChroma, the makers of science-backed colorblind glasses, to provide these innovative lenses at select venues citywide, including the National Nordic Museum.
What Is Colorblindness—and How Common Is It?
Colorblindness affects an estimated 350 million people worldwide, roughly 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women (0.5%) (American Optometric Association). The most common type, red-green color vision deficiency, limits the ability to distinguish between certain colors such as green and yellow, gray and pink, or purple and blue.
While people with typical color vision can perceive over 1 million shades of color, those with colorblindness only see about 10% of this range. Colors often appear muted, dull, or confusing, making it difficult to fully enjoy color-driven art and natural beauty.
How EnChroma Glasses Transform Color Perception
EnChroma’s patented lenses use specialized optical filters to selectively remove overlapping light wavelengths, enabling many red-green colorblind individuals to see a broader and more vibrant spectrum of colors (How EnChroma Works). This technology does not cure colorblindness but enhances color discrimination, making art and everyday life more colorful and accessible.
At the National Nordic Museum, visitors with red-green colorblindness can borrow EnChroma glasses to experience Tróndur Patursson’s mesmerizing glass birds in the Fjord Hall, as well as other exhibits, in vivid and distinct color.
The Unique Experience of Art for Colorblind Visitors
Research shows people with colorblindness often compensate by paying more attention to texture, shape, and contrast when engaging with visual art, which gives them a different but equally valuable perspective (Journal of Vision, 2018). By expanding the range of colors they can perceive, EnChroma glasses open up new layers of meaning and emotional connection to artworks that were previously inaccessible.
“Color blindness often goes unaddressed because not enough people realize how it affects learning, work, daily life, and the ability to fully appreciate art or nature,” said Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma. “We applaud Visit Seattle for partnering with us to make the colorful artwork at Refract, and the city’s numerous other attractions, more accessible to those with color vision deficiencies.”
Ali Daniels, Chief Marketing Officer at Visit Seattle, added: “Seattle’s art scene is one of the best in the world, and we want every visitor to enjoy it to the fullest. With select glass events offering EnChroma Color Blind Glasses, we’re thrilled to make the epicenter of American glass art more accessible than ever.”
How to Access EnChroma Glasses in Seattle
Visitors interested in experiencing EnChroma glasses year-round at the National Nordic Museum can inquire at the Admissions desk. To explore more about Seattle’s city-wide celebration of art glass, including installations featured at the Museum, visit Refract online.
Explore Seattle’s vibrant art with all your available senses — because everyone deserves to experience the full beauty of the city, no matter how they see it.
