Denotative

A type of Color Task, where an individual must identify a color, generally by its name, or some other absolute identifier (like Hue or RGB value).

The obvious denotative color task involves communicating color verbally or in writing, such as “give me the purple toy”.

These color tasks can be quite hard for the colorblind, because even if two colors are different (e.g. dark purple and medium blue), we may not know which is which. The biggest coping mechanism that the colorblind use for denotative color tasks – usually subconsciously – involve memorization or cultural understanding. For example:

• The grass could be green or orange, but I learned as a child that it is always green.
• This flower could be yellow or neon green, but I know of many more yellow flowers than neon green flowers, so I will guess yellow.
• Your socks could be blue or purple, but people tend not to wear purple socks in professional settings, so they are probably blue.