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Color use is imperative to a brand but it can be more important as a form of communication. Color is often associated by bias, such as a red hexagonal representing a stop sign (in the United States). However, many people cannot immediately perceive certain colors and color combinations. This could be senior citizens, colorblind individuals and people with low vision. People who use monochromatic displays will not be able to access colored information. Other forms of positive bias are that errors are red, warnings are yellow and green is positive or “go”.

Summary Points:

• Do not use color exclusively to convey information, especially in the web

• Use text in addition to color, such as “error” or “required” instead of just a red color field

• Maintain a 3:1 contrast ratio minimum

• Brand colors should not be used in fields intended to communicate

• Color in stereoscopic based augmented reality, can be irritating and should be used minimally

Color Resources:

Contrast: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/

Colorblind Checker: https://www.colorblindguide.com/color-blindness-simulator

Examples:

Municipal Communication Color Case Example:

Municipal communication differs from country to country, usually as the result of cultural or translational differences. Up until 1954, stop signs were yellow due to the lack of red dye that wouldn’t fade in the sun. A yellow stop sign conflicts with the meaning of a red traffic light. https://www.rd.com/article/yellow-stop-signs/ . It is folly to assume that every government should have a formal municipal sign agreement. Lack of visual uniformity results in challenges for AI learning prompts, automated driving, foreign drivers, pedestrians and engineers. This same logic and bias can be applied to digital products. Below are examples of several varying stop signs from around the world. Although usually red and octagonal, their shapes and color vary per country. This difference effects cognition and ultimately, reaction time for people or machines.

Further On This Topic:

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-without-color.html