This hypnotic orange optical illusion will mess with your mind

We love a good optical illusion, and this one shows just how much our brains can be fooled when it comes to distinguishing colour – and how doggedly we cling on to our initial belief about what we're seeing. Created by Japanese psychology professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka, the image shows six squares on a rectangle that grades left to right from orange to yellow. 

Chances are that you'll see the squares on the right are a darker shade of orange than those on the left. But your brain's been tricked. Placing the squares on a white background – or indeed checking the RGB values in a programme like Photoshop – shows that they're all exactly the same. (See our guide to how to download Photoshop if you need the software.)

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Joseph Foley

Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news and features, updates buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment for creatives, from monitors to accessories and office supplies. A writer and translator, he also works as a project manager at London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives, where he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing photography, video content, graphic design and collaterals for the hospitality sector. He enjoys photography, particularly nature photography, wellness and he dances Argentine tango.