Colour Deficiencies 3rd Year Project Results

What’s the Problem? A considerable amount of information is presented to computer users through colour without a text alternative. This means if a user is colour blind, and therefore unable to distinguish between certain colours, this information could be lost.

A recent usability study conducted by the UK Disability Rights Commission, found that colour accessibility is the second most recurring problem for disabled users whilst accessing information on the web.

Which Graph is Easier to Read?

In a room of 250 people, split 50% male and 50% female, it is said that there will be more than ten colour deficient people in that audience.

As a result, it is possible that if graphs and coloured text are used to display important information, then this type of media may be missed.

Creating an Interface

Showing the user interface to a modern pumping station

Not everything is what it seems..

Color Doctor filtering an image to what a typical Protanope would see.

“The hospital is the yellow building”

Suitable colouringAlthough no specialist hardware or software is required for users with colour deficiencies, such as adapted input devices or screen readers, consideration needs to be made for colours of font, background themes, and buttons.

This is especially true for buttons which change colour when you roll over them or text when it is highlighted.

Bright colours are less confusing than similar shades of a colour, with black and white being the most opposed.

ResultsHow often does colour blindness effect you at a computer?

18

61

41

6

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

All the Time

Often

Not Normally

Never

Responces

Problems reading certain websites that have poor color setups that make the text blend into the

background. Other then that, not much outside having people ask me what color something all

the time.

School projects,street light,cannot be a cop...

as an electrical engineering student, resistors and capacitors pose a problem for me. Others

around me will help read the colors, I will still decode them.

I'm an extreme red/green deficient and because of that, i cannot do all the aspects of graphic

design like i would like to. Also, in many cases, i cannot tell if the robot's lights are even

working

not knowing the difference between underlines in Microsoft word, not being able to see sbtle

distincitions in pictures or in life.

sometimes graphs on computers are red-green in order to show intensitiy and i can't read them

mostly recognition when reading legends with a map, or Excel graphs

Small difficulties at work. Sometimes I have to work with map making software

background colours making text hard to see

As a web developer, I can't name the colors I'm using or be sure my work is aesthetically pleasing. It also affects me when I come across blinking

traffic lights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Maps/Archive_1

Map Project