TDTD Adds New “Color Blind” Viewfinders Statewide, Honored with Adweek Project Isaac Award

Images of color blind travelers experiencing the brilliant fall colors for the first time using specially equipped viewfinders at Tennessee’s Ober Gatlinburg made national news last year with an emotionally-charged video that captured people seeing color for the first time. By installing the special viewfinders, TDTD has created an opportunity for the millions of Americans afflicted by protanomaly and deuteranomaly (more commonly known as red-green color blindness or color vision deficiency) to see the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains at the peak of the fall foliage season.

Responding to popular demand, TDTD today announced “color blind” viewfinders have now been installed at a total of 12 locations across the state, and the launch of a new website, tnvacation.com/tn-fall-color to assist all travelers planning trips to enjoy the beautiful fall splendor of Tennessee.

The viewers can be found at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Ober Gatlinburg, I-26 Westbound Scenic Overlook, Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, Chickasaw State Park, Ruby Falls, Standing Stone Park, South Cumberland State Park, Millikan’s Overlook at Fall Creek Falls State Park, Veterans/Clinch Mountain Overlook, Highway 111 in the Sequatchie Valley, and along the Cherohala Skyway.

Each of the color blind viewfinders are outfitted with innovative EnChroma® lenses designed to alleviate red-green color blindness. This ground-breaking spectral lens technology enables people with color blindness to see a broader range of clear, vibrant color.

“One of the main pillars we promote in Tennessee is our scenic beauty,” said Commissioner Kevin Triplett, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. “The reds, oranges and yellows in the fall and the incredible colors in the spring are a staple of what comes to mind when people think about Tennessee or visit here. But to realize, through red/green deficiencies and other forms of color blindness, there potentially are more than 13 million people in our country alone who cannot fully appreciate the beauty our state has to offer, we wanted to do something about that. We wanted to provide opportunities for more people to see what those of us who can may take for granted.”

Because of this great work that has impacted millions of travelers, TDTD has won an Adweek Project Isaac Award for The Colorblind Viewer in the Customer Experience Invention category.

The Adweek Project Isaac Awards cast a celebratory light on true invention – beyond innovation – across all of Adweek’s areas of coverage. Entries from around the world were accepted across 34 categories, divided into three brackets: Advertising & Marketing, Media, and Best Practices.

An independent panel of jurors judged the submissions in two rounds. Winners for each category were awarded a trophy and profiled in the invention-themed issue of Adweek published in print and online Aug. 20.