How do you design for color blindness in communication design?

3 How to choose colors for color blindness?

Choosing colors for color blindness is not about avoiding certain colors, but about ensuring enough contrast, variety, and clarity in your color palette. To achieve this, use colors that are easily distinguishable by most color blind users, such as yellow, orange, pink, purple, and black. Additionally, avoid relying solely on colors to convey meaning or information; instead, use other visual cues like shapes, icons, labels, patterns, or textures to supplement the colors. Red and green together should be avoided for important elements like buttons or warnings; if you must use them together, ensure there is enough contrast and brightness difference or add another indicator such as a symbol or text. Blue and yellow should also be used with caution as they can cause eye strain and blur for some color blind users; if you need to use them together, make sure there is enough contrast and saturation difference or use a darker or lighter shade of one of them. Finally, avoid using too many colors or gradients as they can create confusion and noise for color blind users; instead opt for a limited and consistent color scheme and use shades or tints of the same color to create hierarchy or emphasis.

4 How to design charts and graphs for color blindness?

Charts and graphs are common communication design elements that rely heavily on colors to show data and trends, but this can make them hard to read for color blind users. To design charts and graphs for color blindness, use simple and clear chart types such as bar, line, or pie charts. Describe the data and colors used with labels, legends, or captions instead of color codes or keys. Differentiate the data points or series with shapes, sizes, or styles like circles, squares, triangles, stars, solid lines, dashed lines, or dotted lines. Finally, use colors that are distinct and contrast well with each other and the background; avoid similar colors like red and green or blue and purple. Utilize tools like Color Brewer or Paletton to generate suitable color schemes.

5 How to design icons and images for color blindness?

Icons and images are another communication design elements that use colors to attract attention, create mood, or convey meaning. However, colors can also make icons and images ambiguous or misleading for color blind users. To ensure your design is accessible for all users, it’s important to use simple and recognizable icons that can communicate the message or function without relying on colors. Additionally, make sure the colors you use are relevant and appropriate for the context and the audience. Also, they should be consistent and coherent with the rest of the design, as well as balanced and harmonious with each other and with the background. Avoid using overly bright, dark, or saturated colors that can create visual noise or distraction.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?