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OTHER COLOR DESIGN GUIDELINES In addition to specific visual problems with particular color combinations, there are some more general concerns about use of color in graphic design. Use color sparingly, for
specific purposes.
When drawing attention to symbols with color one is taking advantage of the "novelty" effect in human vision. Throughout human perception changes and departures from the norm draw attention. This effect, too, is reduced by repeated use. In this figure the grouping, labeling, and popout effects are stronger in the left panel than in the right. |
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More on grouping ; More on popout ; More on labeling . Avoid
overuse of saturated colors.
There are also several undesirable visual side effects of saturated colors that can sometimes interfere with the intended communications. |
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Simultaneous and successive color contrast are serious concerns in some designs. Successive contrast is a result of looking at a patch of one color for a while, then looking at a different set of colors. The appearance of the second set is altered by the afterimage of the first color. Stare at the top left blue square for 5-10 seconds, then look at the small outline square below. You should see the aftereffect of the green and magenta fields as faint magenta and green fields, respectively. |
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Now repeat the experiment using the paler (less saturated) figure on the right. The afterimages should be much less visible--in fact, if you direct your attention to the left-hand figures without moving your eyes from the right-hand figure you can see that the afterimage on the left is stronger even in peripheral vision. In simultaneous contrast it is not necessary to superimpose an afterimage on the target. The apparent color of a target is always affected by the physical color of adjacent areas, in roughly the same color direction as successive contrast. The most serious
operational problem with simultaneous and successive contrast is
possible mistakes in identification of color-coded symbols. On the
saturated green and magenta backgrounds the two physically identical
squares
don't appear identical: The one on the magenta background looks
more like the upper square on the green background than the lower
square
due to interaction with the backgrounds. The influence of the backgrounds
is much smaller on the paler backgrounds. |
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Color
can be a distractor in search tasks.
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Use color consistently
across all of the user's applications. ![]() Related Topics: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
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