kyo takano creates 'color universal rubik's cube'

‘Color Universal Rubik’s Cube’ by kyo takano

While Rubik’s Cube continues to be popular worldwide, the color blind still can’t fully enjoy solving the puzzle. Since its invention by Prof. Ernő Rubik in 1974, the cube typically comes in the same six-color palette (White, yellow, red, blue, orange, and green)– an inaccessible combination for those who perceive the world in different shades. In light of this, designer Kyo Takano proposes the ‘Color Universal Rubik’s Cube’, a color-blind friendly alternative to the original puzzle. ‘With this design, everyone can enjoy Rubik’s Cube, regardless of their color vision characteristics,’ assures Takano.

Recreating the Rubik’s Cube palette involved plenty of research on color blindness. Kyo Takano (see more) shares some of his findings: ‘For example, the combination of green and orange is barely distinguishable to a red-green colorblind person (Deutan & Protan). Even for those without color blindness, orange and yellow are very similar in hue. Perhaps, the random color scheme implemented in the early stage of popularization has continued to this day, only as a mere convention.’

a new and improved six-color palette

Based on the research, the proposed design reconstructs the traditional surface of the Rubik’s Cube using the latest color theory guidance. By searching for the best combination of tones in the perceptual color space called HCL and verifying them through vision deficiency simulations, Takano assembled an optimal palette of six colors that allows anyone to enjoy solving the puzzle.