The Use of Colour

Overview

The Importance of colourChanging use of colourHow much does colour matter?Designing in colourEnsuring the colours are right

Why is colour important?

Physical Implications 8% US / European users have colour

deficiency most commonly red-green colour blindness difficulties in colour differentiation impact of ageing population most important design consideration

Why is colour important?

Cultural Reasons certain colours may impact on emotions colours may have significance cultural bias culture not just national, also relates to

professionscustom and practice

Changing colour availability

Early apps (late 80s / early 90s) often designing in 16 colours importance of the palette

Later apps (mid 90s) 256 colours Mac to millions

Now millions and millions of colours for the average

PC

Colour currently

Colour previously so poor that its use was often clumsy

Web demands appropriate and effective use of colour more than any other domain

Few HW/SW constraintsColour permits differentiationCompeting with multimediaImplicit in the texts, somehow you’re expected

to know how to do it...

Designing in B&W

Still appropriate BUT before Hi-Fi prototypePreviously designing in B&W was done at

the electronic stage. No longer the caseDesign in B&W now means design on paperOnce on screen, colour is part of the

essential mix

Why are so many applications grey?

Justifications high clarity no eye-strain not as “stark” as B&W

The Truth Microsoft defaults to grey Design what you’re used to seeing

Is grey really that desirable?

History of the web…

How many websites are grey?

Black and white preferred for documents, otherwise users want COLOUR

When colour doesn’t matter much

When you’re dealing with systems developers… Functionality of extreme importance and if

it doesn’t work there will be no interface Internal checks on some aspect of the code

that will not affect interaction significantly Experimentation with something that you’re

really not sure about (research project)

Reduced Colour Designs

Not necessarily grey, just whatever colour palette you normally design on

Use defaults where possible (lazy, but expected and non-intrusive)

Use easy to read colours (stick to simple palette of colours) greys / bieges black / white few accent colours

When colour does matter

When the design is to be used with users and stakeholders Interface to be used as sales or marketing

tool High level executives will decide on project

viability and prototype will be used as determining factor

End users are to be involved

Designing in Colour

Vital to design for physical limitationsShould reflect user expectationsAdd-value to the interfaceShould improve usability / utilityNon-static nature of colourGuidelines MAY be out of date...

Colour Design

Follow guidelines Decide early in the lifecycle and stick

with itWhich colours and why?

Emotional impact of colours? Fashion? The Environment?

Ways of deciding the colour

Designing for the User, the Task and the Environment

Users - old / young / fashionable / conservative / specific expectations

Tasks - complex / difficult / information gathering / data entering / performance

Environment - social & cultural context / use factors / platform impact

Colour Problems

Colours that work well in the real world may fail in the virtual world…

Colours may just not workLearn with practice and over timeSurprising impact of adding coloursDo not continue with a colour scheme

that you feel is wrong…

Doing colour design

KEEP IT CHEAPdecide on colour spectrum

main colours accent colours colour constraints and requirements

create colour templatetry out a couple of “Key” screensmake some firm decisions and update

template

Colour Tweaking / Evaluation!

Worth itUsual people (person with most buy-in)

project manager product owner primary user

Can occur several times at different stages of lifecycle

Summary

Colour important aspect of design for many interfaces

Need to consider physical and cultural issues

Successful colour design is an ability that develops over time

Colour must be easy to modify in response to users (e.g. hi-fi prototypes)