{"id":22702,"date":"2026-10-14T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/?p=22702"},"modified":"2026-08-25T13:12:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T19:12:56","slug":"pc-is-the-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold-cielab-knows-the-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/22702\/pc-is-the-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold-cielab-knows-the-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Dress Blue and Black or White and Gold? CIELab Knows the Answer."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_22704\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 300px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-22704 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bluedress-300x200.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bluedress-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bluedress-1024x682.png 1024w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bluedress-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bluedress.png 1451w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">The infamous dress in different illuminations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">In 2015, the internet blew up with a controversy so divisive that people from Taylor Swift to a United States Senator felt they had to weigh in. What question was so important that millions of people were compelled to post on multiple social media platforms in order to have their voice heard? \u201cIs this dress blue and black or white and gold?\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">I see two very important takeaways from this viral controversy. First, different people or observers can perceive the same colors very differently. Second, people get way overexcited about things on the internet.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">M<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">any factors may contribute to variations in color perception from one observer to another. These can include illumination conditions, artificial vs. natural light sources, and patterns of shadow and reflection from the surrounding environment. How the human eye views and interprets color can change with factors such as age, nearsightedness, genetic conditions like color blindness, and fatigue. All of these variables contribute to how two people can see the same color differently. Since the 1920s, researchers have been working to quantify how people perceive color and how to standardize color measurements without using a human observer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22705\" src=\"http:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB1-300x235.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB1-300x235.png 300w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB1-768x602.png 768w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB1.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Although there are many systems in place to quantify color without human observation, the method most commonly used today is known as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/en\/na\/Coatings\/search?k=%22CIELab%22&amp;st=31&amp;utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CIELab<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CIELab describes color as a three-dimensional space with numeric values on the three axes consisting of one lightness and two chroma, or color, components. The corresponding descriptors for these axes are:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><b><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">L = lightness scale, a = green\/red scale, b = yellow\/blue scale<\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><b><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">(Delta E is a way to measure color difference)<\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">First defined in 1976 by the International Commission on Illumination (Commission Internationale de l\u2019\u00c9clairage abbreviated as CIE), the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/en\/na\/Coatings\/search?k=%22CIELab%22&amp;st=31&amp;utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CIELab<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> system encompasses the entire range of human color perception.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Quantifying Human Color Perception\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">If we want to quantify color, we must first define it in measurable parameters. Human color perception relies on three types of light receptors in the retina of the eye. These receptors are called short, medium, and long cones, and they respond to blue, green, and red light in that order. The first color measurement systems attempted to mimic the human eye by measuring the reflectance in each of these areas. The CIE first developed a system to quantify color in 1931 with the Tristimulus System. A key component of this system was the mathematical treatment of spectral reflectance data to model how the average human eye perceived colors.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>ULTRUS<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> software solutions connect product life cycle data, regulatory content and expertise and AI-driven automation and analytics. Learn more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ul.com\/software\/ultrus?utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>!<\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Instrumentation<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Instruments capable of measuring spectral reflectance accurately are used to evaluate color. This data is then translated to the L, a, and b parameters of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/en\/na\/Coatings\/search?k=%22CIELab%22&amp;st=31&amp;utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CIELab<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> system. In order to compare two colors on an equal<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"none\">footing, several measurement conditions must be the same. First, the source of illumination must be identical for the two measurements. Spectrophotometers designed to measure color have a range of standard illuminants to choose from. For example, D65 is a standard illuminant frequently used for color matches in daylight environments. Other conditions which must be specified are the angle of observation and whether or not to include specular (angular reflectance) as well as the diffuse<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"none\">reflectance of light from the surface in the measurements.<\/span> <span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Math (A Necessary Evil)<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Before the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/en\/na\/Coatings\/search?k=%22CIELab%22&amp;st=31&amp;utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CIELab<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> values for a color are determined, mathematical treatments are used to compensate for the human eye\u2019s tendency to perceive color differences within some color spaces better than others. The broad term for these differences in color interpretation is color tolerance. There are a series of equations that describe how color tolerances are calculated which will not be discussed in this article. When it comes to higher mathematics I do not need to know <\/span> <span data-contrast=\"none\">how the sausage is made, I just trust the results.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Another important and much more straightforward calculation that I understand and will therefore discuss, is the calculation of color difference. Most commonly referred to as Delta E, <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\ud835\udeab<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">E, or simply DE, this number can correlate to how different two colors appear to an observer. Delta E is calculated using the equation below.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-22706\" src=\"http:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB2-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB2-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB2-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB2-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CIELAB2.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The value of <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\ud835\udeab<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">E can be a useful indicator of whether or not a human observer can distinguish between two similar colors. Care must be used when using <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\ud835\udeab<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">E as a color matching approval metric for two reasons. First, not everyone sees color the same, especially experienced color specialists. Second, end-users have different expectations of what is an acceptable color match. For example, two colors with a <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\ud835\udeab<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">E of 2 might be acceptable to an interior designer or architect but would not be to an automotive quality control manager.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">CIELab as an International Standard<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">We have seen that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/en\/na\/Coatings\/search?k=%22CIELab%22&amp;st=31&amp;utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CIELab<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> is a powerful tool to describe color in terms relating to how humans perceive<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"none\">it and as a way to compare two colors. It can even help us estimate how well colors might match visually. Its status as an internationally accepted standard for color communication enhances CIELab\u2019s utility. Color stakeholders all over the world can use a common language, so to speak, to describe, specify, and control color for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/en\/na\/Coatings?utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">coatings<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/en\/na\/Inks?utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">inks<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, fabrics, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/materials.ulprospector.com\/en?utm_source=KnowledgeCenter&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=CIELAB++&amp;utm_term=Coatings&amp;utm_content=Kesler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">plastics<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">. This ensures proper color harmony for multi-nationally sourced products, an overlooked but important part of the global economy.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-ccp-border-bottom=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-bottom=\"0px\" data-ccp-border-between=\"0px none #000000\" data-ccp-padding-between=\"0px\"><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2015, the internet blew up with a controversy so divisive that people from Taylor Swift to a United States Senator felt they had to weigh in. What question was so important that millions of people were compelled to post &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/22702\/pc-is-the-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold-cielab-knows-the-answer\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":22710,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[16,1],"tags":[495,1401],"ppma_author":[1280],"class_list":["post-22702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-paint-coatings","category-featured","tag-paints-and-coatings","tag-cielab","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is the Dress Blue and Black or White and Gold? CIELab Knows the Answer.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many factors may contribute to variations in color perception from one observer to another. These can include illumination conditions, artificial vs. natural light sources, and patterns of shadow and reflection from the surrounding environment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/22702\/pc-is-the-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold-cielab-knows-the-answer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is the Dress Blue and Black or White and Gold? CIELab Knows the Answer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many factors may contribute to variations in color perception from one observer to another. These can include illumination conditions, artificial vs. natural light sources, and patterns of shadow and reflection from the surrounding environment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/22702\/pc-is-the-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold-cielab-knows-the-answer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Prospector Knowledge Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-14T12:00:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bluedress300x200.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Wally Kesler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Wally Kesler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/22702\\\/pc-is-the-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold-cielab-knows-the-answer\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/22702\\\/pc-is-the-dress-blue-and-black-or-white-and-gold-cielab-knows-the-answer\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Wally Kesler\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ulprospector.ul.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5715239cedff0d1cbd23685c1886148e\"},\"headline\":\"Is the Dress Blue and Black or White and Gold? 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