This essay traces how color in technology shifted from function to identity, from authority to atmosphere. What began as a visual language for safety and system state evolved into personal expression, then disappeared under professional minimalism and optimization. Today, color is re-emerging as presence. Through objects, interfaces, and spaces, technology is learning how to be seen again, signaling a quieter, more human relationship between design, vision, and experience.

Every January, CES shows us where technology is headed: innovators, media, and decision-makers sharing what they've been building and what they think we'll want next. I looked through 400+ products and organized them across eight perceptual systems: sight, sound, touch, taste, scent, space, time, and system. What stood out was a pattern: these devices aren't just responding to how we live, they're learning how we sense. That shift feels worth noticing.