Dazzle camouflage.

Scholarly dissertation about the crazy paint schemes used on ships in WWII. It was designed to confuse, not conceal.

THE MOST familiar kinds of camouflage make one thing appear to be two, two things one, and so on. Camouflage artists (called camoufleurs) make it an arduous challenge to see a figure on a ground (called blending), or to distinguish one category of object from another (mimicry). Less familiar but potentially far more effective is disruptive or dazzle camouflage in which a single thing appears to be a hodgepodge of unrelated components.

I really like the word camoufleur, which I haven't seen elsewhere. There is more interesting stuff on this website, and the look of the thing is pretty cool too.