The Curious Eye

We partnered with the Children’s Eye Foundation of AAPOS to create The Curious Eye, the world’s first storybook designed to help screen children for Color Vision Deficiency (CVD) – aka color blindness. Early diagnosis is crucial – as color is an important learning and development tool during a child’s formative years.



Unfortunately, most people with CVD historically haven’t been diagnosed until their adolescence or even adulthood. This is because neither schools nor most pediatricians screen for the condition, and children generally don't know they have it.



The Curious Eye is the only tool of its kind – specially developed to help children (and parents) get the help and support they need – turning the screening process into a fun and engaging adventure. Our goals were to raise national awareness of CVD as an under-diagnosed vision condition and to get The Curious Eye into the hands of healthcare providers, teachers, and parents who can use it to help children with CVD.



The book features a handy answer key at the end of the story to help parents and educators – even those who may be affected by CVD themselves – determine if they should contact an eye-care professional for diagnosis. It also directs parents to The Children’s Eye Foundation’s online ophthalmologist referral service for clinical diagnosis.



Written in rhyme, The Curious Eye is a 24-page storybook that takes a page from the standardized Ishihara test format. But instead of using multicolored dots shaped as numbers (as with Ishihara), the book uses the dots to create fun, familiar storybook creatures. We partnered with both ophthalmologists and internal employees living with CVD to ensure each spread mimicked the desired results.



As a result of our campaign, interactions on CEF’s social channels increased by 13,944%, and the week after launch, CEF’s homepage saw a 1,065% increase in visitors. The book reached audiences around the world, generating 64 million+ earned press impressions from coverage by outlets like The Wall Street Journal, Luerzer’s Archive, Verywell, Medscape, and The Daily Mail. Eye specialists, parents, and teachers around the globe requested translations of the book.