A tactile display writer unit includes a probe having a contact tip, and at least a first actuator and a second actuator coupled to the probe, whereby activation of the actuators results in a displacement of the probe tip in one or more of a z-direction and in a lateral direction having a vector in an x-y plane. Also, a display writer includes a plurality of such units supported in an x-y array. The writer units may have a third actuator coupled to the probe. Also, a tactile vision system includes such a display writer, an image processor, and an image sensor. The processor transforms RGB image information from the image sensor into hue-based information having two or more attributes; and the actuators in the tactile display writer are activated by the information attributes. Also, a method for producing a tactile color stimulus at a site on the skin of a subject includes providing a probe having a contact tip; displacing the tip at the contact site in a direction generally normal to the skin surface at the site to an extent that relates one attribute of a hue-based model of the color, and displacing the tip in at least one lateral direction generally in a plane parallel to the skin surface at the site to an extent that relates to at least one additional attribute of the color.