by Having our minds boggled by optical illusions is one of our favorite distractions here at Creative Bloq. Optical illusions can delight us, educate us, and just plain confuse us, and we’ve seen plenty of examples of all of these over the past year.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen everything from random optical illusions to illusions deliberately designed to confuse our brains. From a double illusion with dots that seem to change and disappear to hidden faces, some were so good they are worth revisiting. Below are three of our favorites that continued to impress us throughout the year.
Want to create your own illusions? Consider investing in the best graphic design software for the tools you need. In the meantime, here’s our pick of the best optical illusions of 2022.
Chromostereopsis optical illusion
This first optical illusion made our brains ache just from the name alone. Chromostereopsis might not trip off the tongue easily, but it refers to a type of illusion that creates the impression of depth in a two-dimensional color image, usually a combination of red-blue or red-green.
The example above was designed by the cognitive scientist Tom Stafford (opens in a new tab). The optical illusion shows a blue pupil inside a red socket, but to some the pupil appears to recede into the screen, with a large distance between red and blue.
Stafford notes that there are big differences in how the effect is perceived among different people. People also report differences in which color looks closer. It explores how we perceive things and unlocks endless debates as people see it in different ways.
Two optical illusions for the price of one
Two optical illusions in one? You have my attention. This White dot GIF illusion designed by contact lens supplier Lenstore (opens in a new tab) can soak you in for hours if you’re not careful. It shows a series of gray dots arranged in a circle on a red background, with two of the dots a different color at any given time. But all the dots can either change color or disappear completely if you look in the right place.
Confused? Just select one of the moving dots to watch. To make all the dots change color, follow the light gray dot you’ve selected as it moves around the circle. After about 30 seconds, the rest of the dots should turn a blue-green/green shade. Do you want to get rid of the spots completely? Just stare at the cross in the center of the circle for 30 seconds and all the dots should disappear.
Hidden faces optical illusion
It is debatable whether this counts as an optical illusion, but it is still impressive. Rather than a psychological/physiological optical illusion, this facing optical illusion is a literal illusion created on purpose by an artist.
Ukrainian artist Oleg Shupliak (opens in a new tab) make paintings with faces hidden inside them – sometimes the faces are pretty clear to spot, other times it takes a bit of searching to see them. He has been making the pieces for over three decades now. The internet loves them and they certainly draw us in to make us look at the details of his work. At first glance, many of Shupliak’s illusions look like abstract depictions of faces, but as you look closer, detailed landscapes or other scenes emerge.
Hungry for more confusion? Make sure you see our selection of the best optical illusions of all time, the best animal optical illusions or this astonishing optical illusion that claims to reveal a whole new color.
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