Color blindness help
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Not a programming question, more a design question. I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000) to indicate it's state (good, not ready, somethings horribly wrong, respectively). The color alone isn't the only indication, but it is probably the most obvious (and it's a solid block of color, not text). Of course, this color scheme looks great to me and seems logical and intuitive, but I've had some user do a beta test complaining that the colors are too subtle and not obvious enough. It occurred to me that they might have some form of color blindness that makes the colors hard to distinguish. So, I'm thinking of adding a feature to switch color schemes to something a bit more color blind friendly. However, since I'm not color blind, my question is what would work reasonably for a color blind user without looking too horribly garish to a person with normal color vision and being at least somewhat intuitive? I saw this website http://colorschemedesigner.com/[^] which seems really cool, but doesn't let me put in arbitrary colors in order to see how my color scheme looks. Any color blind readers out there who can help?
Try combining colour and shape: green tick orange triangle red cross
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. or "Drink. Get drunk. Fall over." - P O'H
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Not a programming question, more a design question. I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000) to indicate it's state (good, not ready, somethings horribly wrong, respectively). The color alone isn't the only indication, but it is probably the most obvious (and it's a solid block of color, not text). Of course, this color scheme looks great to me and seems logical and intuitive, but I've had some user do a beta test complaining that the colors are too subtle and not obvious enough. It occurred to me that they might have some form of color blindness that makes the colors hard to distinguish. So, I'm thinking of adding a feature to switch color schemes to something a bit more color blind friendly. However, since I'm not color blind, my question is what would work reasonably for a color blind user without looking too horribly garish to a person with normal color vision and being at least somewhat intuitive? I saw this website http://colorschemedesigner.com/[^] which seems really cool, but doesn't let me put in arbitrary colors in order to see how my color scheme looks. Any color blind readers out there who can help?
I am color blind and I can tell those colors apart, no problem.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
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Try combining colour and shape: green tick orange triangle red cross
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. or "Drink. Get drunk. Fall over." - P O'H
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I am color blind and I can tell those colors apart, no problem.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
Which type of color blind are you?
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Not a programming question, more a design question. I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000) to indicate it's state (good, not ready, somethings horribly wrong, respectively). The color alone isn't the only indication, but it is probably the most obvious (and it's a solid block of color, not text). Of course, this color scheme looks great to me and seems logical and intuitive, but I've had some user do a beta test complaining that the colors are too subtle and not obvious enough. It occurred to me that they might have some form of color blindness that makes the colors hard to distinguish. So, I'm thinking of adding a feature to switch color schemes to something a bit more color blind friendly. However, since I'm not color blind, my question is what would work reasonably for a color blind user without looking too horribly garish to a person with normal color vision and being at least somewhat intuitive? I saw this website http://colorschemedesigner.com/[^] which seems really cool, but doesn't let me put in arbitrary colors in order to see how my color scheme looks. Any color blind readers out there who can help?
Using colour as the only visual indicator is not a great choice - you should look into other indicators as well. You could use alternate shapes together with colour indicators.
I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
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Not a programming question, more a design question. I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000) to indicate it's state (good, not ready, somethings horribly wrong, respectively). The color alone isn't the only indication, but it is probably the most obvious (and it's a solid block of color, not text). Of course, this color scheme looks great to me and seems logical and intuitive, but I've had some user do a beta test complaining that the colors are too subtle and not obvious enough. It occurred to me that they might have some form of color blindness that makes the colors hard to distinguish. So, I'm thinking of adding a feature to switch color schemes to something a bit more color blind friendly. However, since I'm not color blind, my question is what would work reasonably for a color blind user without looking too horribly garish to a person with normal color vision and being at least somewhat intuitive? I saw this website http://colorschemedesigner.com/[^] which seems really cool, but doesn't let me put in arbitrary colors in order to see how my color scheme looks. Any color blind readers out there who can help?
There is all kinds of color blindness, as the problem may be in the 3 color receptors, or in the information processing. Most "color blind" do see quite a number of colors but can't discriminate green and red reliably; some can't discern blue from orange; and some don't see any color at all. There isn't a single scheme that would work for all of them. I would advise: - to always use a white background (if you must, a black one; but nothing else). - to provide a choice of a few color schemes. - to also consider cross-hatching schemes. - to always offer textual or graphical indications to go with the color coding. BTW: Just having different gray scale values, or different saturation levels, won't solve the problem, as those aren't absolute. For healthy eyes, green is green; however when you are shown a single gray level, what actual color was intended? :)
Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles] Nil Volentibus Arduum
Please use <PRE> tags for code snippets, they preserve indentation, and improve readability.
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Wjousts wrote:
I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000)
Well, I may be a PITA, but I am colourblind as well. I can't read the word green in there, but I get past it pretty easily: I highlight the text. This is par for the course for me and my survival strategy for most color-related issues. If I can't highlight it and the colors are not high-contrast, chances are I can't read it.
I think that green is the problem. The background on which it appears is somewhat similar to the blue background on posts here, so I think that's the problem. I'll need to lighten the background and/or increase the intensity of the green. I think the difference between green / orange / red is actually less of a problem.
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Using colour as the only visual indicator is not a great choice - you should look into other indicators as well. You could use alternate shapes together with colour indicators.
I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
yup, that fits with the green check and the red cross that were used early on in Windows. :)
Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles] Nil Volentibus Arduum
Please use <PRE> tags for code snippets, they preserve indentation, and improve readability.
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Not a programming question, more a design question. I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000) to indicate it's state (good, not ready, somethings horribly wrong, respectively). The color alone isn't the only indication, but it is probably the most obvious (and it's a solid block of color, not text). Of course, this color scheme looks great to me and seems logical and intuitive, but I've had some user do a beta test complaining that the colors are too subtle and not obvious enough. It occurred to me that they might have some form of color blindness that makes the colors hard to distinguish. So, I'm thinking of adding a feature to switch color schemes to something a bit more color blind friendly. However, since I'm not color blind, my question is what would work reasonably for a color blind user without looking too horribly garish to a person with normal color vision and being at least somewhat intuitive? I saw this website http://colorschemedesigner.com/[^] which seems really cool, but doesn't let me put in arbitrary colors in order to see how my color scheme looks. Any color blind readers out there who can help?
I have a light form of color blindness and will need a second or two to distinguish the green and the orange in this case and with this back color. If you use a blue instead of green or instead of the orange I’ll have no problems.
The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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Try combining colour and shape: green tick orange triangle red cross
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. or "Drink. Get drunk. Fall over." - P O'H
I can't really do that since we are talking about a bar that is approaching a setpoint marker. When it's not within a certain tolerance of the setpoint it's orange, when it is, it's green (when it shoots over the max or under the min, it's red). So there is some visual indication from the location / size of the bar versus the tick mark of the setpoint, but the bar can't really change shape. I'd need an additional marker separate from the main part of the control.
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I read a really good article about GUI design which included some good info about color blindness and how to program for it. I couldn't find the link, but google found this article[^]. It has a link to a colorblind web page filter[^] where you can type in a URL and see it as a colorblind person would. Maybe it will help. It was fun to play with anyway. It makes Codeproject look like a blue and brown mess.
I personally think that the Code Project should go Monochrome. ;P Great link by the way. :thumbsup:
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yup, that fits with the green check and the red cross that were used early on in Windows. :)
Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles] Nil Volentibus Arduum
Please use <PRE> tags for code snippets, they preserve indentation, and improve readability.
This deals with a lot of what we do with our users who use symbology on a daily basis.
I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
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Which type of color blind are you?
red/green, which is the most common type.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
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There is all kinds of color blindness, as the problem may be in the 3 color receptors, or in the information processing. Most "color blind" do see quite a number of colors but can't discriminate green and red reliably; some can't discern blue from orange; and some don't see any color at all. There isn't a single scheme that would work for all of them. I would advise: - to always use a white background (if you must, a black one; but nothing else). - to provide a choice of a few color schemes. - to also consider cross-hatching schemes. - to always offer textual or graphical indications to go with the color coding. BTW: Just having different gray scale values, or different saturation levels, won't solve the problem, as those aren't absolute. For healthy eyes, green is green; however when you are shown a single gray level, what actual color was intended? :)
Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [Why QA sucks] [My Articles] Nil Volentibus Arduum
Please use <PRE> tags for code snippets, they preserve indentation, and improve readability.
Actually, it's more true to say that I can't discern easily between shades that involve red and green to different degrees. A traffic light in the dark poses me no problems at all.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
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I have a light form of color blindness and will need a second or two to distinguish the green and the orange in this case and with this back color. If you use a blue instead of green or instead of the orange I’ll have no problems.
The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
Yes, I agree, one color from the blue/yellow spectrum and one from the red/green spectrum would mean that most color blind people would have no trouble at all.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
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Actually, it's more true to say that I can't discern easily between shades that involve red and green to different degrees. A traffic light in the dark poses me no problems at all.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
The same here; that’s why I’m not a fighter pilot, but developer/no kidding/.
The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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red/green, which is the most common type.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
You are no longer allowed to complain about the funky color scheme in VS2010. Don't worry, we'll pick up the slack. ;P
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You are no longer allowed to complain about the funky color scheme in VS2010. Don't worry, we'll pick up the slack. ;P
LOL !!! The colors are the least of it's worries.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
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Not a programming question, more a design question. I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000) to indicate it's state (good, not ready, somethings horribly wrong, respectively). The color alone isn't the only indication, but it is probably the most obvious (and it's a solid block of color, not text). Of course, this color scheme looks great to me and seems logical and intuitive, but I've had some user do a beta test complaining that the colors are too subtle and not obvious enough. It occurred to me that they might have some form of color blindness that makes the colors hard to distinguish. So, I'm thinking of adding a feature to switch color schemes to something a bit more color blind friendly. However, since I'm not color blind, my question is what would work reasonably for a color blind user without looking too horribly garish to a person with normal color vision and being at least somewhat intuitive? I saw this website http://colorschemedesigner.com/[^] which seems really cool, but doesn't let me put in arbitrary colors in order to see how my color scheme looks. Any color blind readers out there who can help?
This is a common problem. The way I approach it is by using not only different colors but also different shapes; a red circle, a orange triangle and a green square, for example. Put them in a legend and it is obvious, even to a color blind person, what state is being represented.
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Not a programming question, more a design question. I have an application that has an indicator that turns from green (#90EE90) to orange (#FFA500) to red (#FF0000) to indicate it's state (good, not ready, somethings horribly wrong, respectively). The color alone isn't the only indication, but it is probably the most obvious (and it's a solid block of color, not text). Of course, this color scheme looks great to me and seems logical and intuitive, but I've had some user do a beta test complaining that the colors are too subtle and not obvious enough. It occurred to me that they might have some form of color blindness that makes the colors hard to distinguish. So, I'm thinking of adding a feature to switch color schemes to something a bit more color blind friendly. However, since I'm not color blind, my question is what would work reasonably for a color blind user without looking too horribly garish to a person with normal color vision and being at least somewhat intuitive? I saw this website http://colorschemedesigner.com/[^] which seems really cool, but doesn't let me put in arbitrary colors in order to see how my color scheme looks. Any color blind readers out there who can help?
I can differentiate between green(#90EE90) and orange (#FFA500).