Layouts for colour blind people...

[falkaholic]

I recently finished a project that I put this nice aqua look too. It looks great and all, at least to me. The main user of the database is colour blind and can't really see it well. He claims to need dark background and lost of contast between text and background etc (use it completly colour blind i think)

My question is, has anyone else run into this? Is there any templates floating around made for colour blind people?

[Keith M. Davie]

I haven't run into it. But in a thread last week someone was complaining about their cursor appearing yellow in a colored field and wanted to know how to change it. At that time I suggested that field background and text colors could be problematical for color-blind clients.

Some day perhaps we will be able to design effectively for the totally blind. It will be a boon for them.

So create duplicate layouts for this client using the colors (s)he wants and use a bunch of If, Else scripts for navigation which can be keyed around his id or username.

[Rigsby]

Ok! I

[CobaltSky]

I ran into this problem on several occasions while working in a University setting some years ago.

As it happens, the term 'color blind' is a misnomer, as very few individuals are totally color insensitive (and those that are are frequently monochrome vision - meaning that they are mainly only sensitive to light and dark shades of a particular color - which may not be the same color as another monochrome person).

The majority of people whose color sensitivity is restricted have their problem centred around an inability to distinguish red and green (and the various shades of brownish smudge in between the two). It is mainly people in this group I've had call to cater to.

The advice about good strong contrast between light and dark layout design elements is good, and I'd also suggest that all red and green elements be treated as though they were the same color (eg don't expect your client to be able to see read letters against a green background or vice versa).

A good final test before you place a layout in the hands of the client is to take a screenshot, open it in photoshop (or equivalent) and reduce the color saturation to zero, then see if you can still see the detail clearly. If it passes this test, you might try restoring the saturation and spectrum-shifting the green band into the red zone (or vice versa) and then seeing what you get.

If a layout passes both these tests then in my experience, it is generally acceptable to the 'color impaired' amongst us

[Keith M. Davie]

And there is a human condition (I forget the name of it) wherein an individual processes certain stimuli in two areas of the brain such that if they were viewing this sentence some or all of the letters would be colored (coloured for those who use the Queen's English). Others with the same condition might find some of these words would stimulate their sense of smell.

[CobaltSky]

Yes. The condition is called 'Synaesthesia'.

- I always make sure my layout designs taste good,

my numbers have the right feel and my scripts aren't

'on the nose'

[BobWeaver]

When I read this post I had a ringing in my ears. Oh, wait a minute, that's the doorbell. Nevermind.

[mborgens]

You could have a login that asks the user to select the background color and based off of the answer have customized backgrounds.

mb

[danjacoby]

While we're on the subject...

Colorblindness (for lack of a better term) is a recessive trait found on the "X" chromosome of the 23rd chromosome pair. As a result, very few women are colorblind, since the rare recessive trait is usually overridden by a dominant gene in the other "X" chromosome. As a result, men who are colorblind have a mother who is at least a carrier, and women who are colorblind have colorblind fathers.

Of course, as has been pointed out, this state has many levels. Also, genetics ain't as simple as Brother Mendel originally thought, so the generalizations I just made aren't necessarily necessary.

[CobaltSky]

(In response to mb's suggestion...) Yes. Most layout objects can be set-up to be user-definable from a pallette of options.

But perhaps the ultimate in interface color customizability, would be obtained by using the Troi Graphic plug-in (which generates color swatches 'on the fly' from RGB settings) to allow users to create their own backgrounds and object colors 'to taste' (or lack of it - as the case may be).

[falkaholic]

Good points all.

Thanks a bunch. I'm back to the drawing board....

[The Bridge]

The last stats I heard on this was that 1 in 10 men and 1 in 100 women are colour blind. There are varying degrees, of course; some people may never become aware of their condition. For example, while I am classified as red/green colourblind, it manifests mainly in the yellow/orange range of the spectrum, so it doesn't present a big problem.

[Andre]

Have a look at:

http://www.colorfield.com/insight/

Colorfield Insight is a Photoshop plug-in that allows designers to predict image legibility for color deficient viewers by accurately simulating color blindness.

Insight is available only for the Macintosh and supports Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Image Ready and Illustrator, as well as Macromedia Fireworks.

[BruceJ]

I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV...

When I was in the Navy so many guys learned they were color blind that never realized it.. for that reason I never use red and green as contrasting colors. For example, a red button on a green layout, etc.

If you are unlucky enough to be using a Windoze machine, try going to the Accessibility control panel and experiment with the High Contrast and other settings... that will give you some ideas that have been researched for visually impaired people.

I recently had to design a high contrast set of layouts for a user. One trick I learned was not to put buttons close together becasue they learn the general placement not the actual text on the button.

[Leb i Sol]

use "shapes,incones-sybmols, contrast, monochrone or B&W, and text attributes" rather than colors...

BruceJ:

"put buttons close together becasue they learn the general placement not the actual text on the button. "

user clicks on buttons not on the text....I know that the "little disk" icon means 'save' and that is 3rd icon in line...so why would I care to read word "save" next to it after using a program for so long?

so I would take this as a good thing for "color-deprived eyes". no?

then again, my uncle was convinced that his Menthol ciggarete pack was red colored....and no one could persuade him different

All the best!