The authors describe a practical method for assessing personal profiles of color:word, color:taste, color:music and color:odor synesthesia. The Netherlands Color Synesthesia (NeCoSyn) method is based on the Swedish Natural Color System and the test of genuineness for colored-word synesthesia developed by Baron-Cohen et al. The NeCoSyn method has been tested scientifically and shown to reliably distinguish different types of color synesthesia. It provides individual profiles of color synesthesia in the dimensions of hue, chroma and blackness. This article describes the method and discusses possible applications of NeCoSyn profiles in different fields of the arts and sciences.

Artists and psychologists have been experimenting with synesthesia for centuries. The author provides a historical review to show that artists and psychologists have always had great difficulty manipulating and controlling the phenomenon of synesthesia. Within these limits, artistic experiments with color organs, musical paintings and visual music have primarily uncovered perceptual and emotional aspects of synesthesia. Psychological experiments have produced a variety of methodologies to aid the study of synesthesia. Currently, psychologists approach synesthesia foremost as a neurological phenomenon, while artists generally explore digital devices to simulate synesthesia.