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Number 58, Fall 2007                                                 cartographic perspectives                                    61



                                                                         Mapping: Methods & Tips


Color Design for the Color Vision Impaired                                                 Designers, and especially cartographers, should
                                                                                        ensure that their work is clear to the color impaired
Bernhard Jenny                                                                          as well as to the viewer with full color vision. Such
Institute of Cartography                                                                barrier-free, “universal” design is especially important
ETH Zurich, Switzerland                                                                 when readers have very limited time to read maps and
jenny@karto.baug.ethz.ch                                                                information graphics, as, for example, for the reading
                                                                                        of evacuation plans in emergency situations. Univer-
Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso                                                                  sal design can even be required by law: In the United
The Washington Post                                                                     States, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act amend-
Washington, DC                                                                          ments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
nvkelso@gmail.com                                                                       requires disabled people receive equal or comparative
                                                                                        access to information. Cartographers may also con-
The layout of this document differs slightly from the printed version.
                                                                                        sider barrier-free design as part of their professional
Eight percent of men are affected by color vision                                       ethics, since color vision impairment is probably the
impairment – they have difficulties distinguishing                                       most widespread physiologic impairment hampering
between colors and thus confuse certain colors that                                     map reading.
the majority of people see readily. Designers of maps                                      It is thus important for cartographers and designers
and information graphics cannot disregard the needs                                     of information graphics to know how the color vision
of this relatively large group of media consum-                                         impaired perceive color and what color combinations
ers. This article discusses the most common forms                                       are confused. The first part of this article addresses
of color vision impairment, and introduces Color                                        this question by describing the most common forms
Oracle, a new software tool that assists the designer                                   of color vision impairment, and how they affect color
in verifying color schemes. Color Oracle filters maps                                    perception. We then introduce Color Oracle, a new
and graphics in real-time and efficiently integrates                                     application for the digital simulation of color vision
with existing digital workflows. The paper also                                          impairment. This software assists designers in verify-
discusses color combinations and alternative visual                                     ing that color combinations are universally legible by
variables for map symbology that those with color                                       filtering graphics on computer monitors in real-time.
vision impairments can distinguish unambiguously.                                       The final section provides practical tips for the selec-
The presented techniques help the cartographer pro-                                     tion of colors, and demonstrates how map legibility
duce maps that are easy to read for those with color                                    can be improved by the use of alternative visual vari-
vision impairments and can still look good for those                                    ables and direct annotation.
with normal color vision.
                                                                                        Common types of color vision impairment
Introduction
                                                                                        A wide range of color vision anomalies exist – some
One in twelve men sees color differently than the rest                                  genetic and some the outcome of degenerative diseas-
of the population. Afflicted by a condition often inap-                                  es, poisoning or physical injury. The commonly called
propriately described as colorblindness, these men                                      “red-green blindness” is by far the most frequent form.
confuse certain colors that the majority of people are                                  It affects about 8% of all males, mainly causing dif-
able to distinguish.1 Their perception of hue, satura-                                  ficulty when distinguishing colors emanating from the
tion and brightness varies. Color vision impairment                                     red-green portion of the visible spectrum.
is typically inherited due to a sex-linked recessive                                        Color vision is linked to the cones that respond
gene carried on the X chromosome and predominant-                                       to light entering the eye. People with full color vi-
ly affects men. Eight percent of the male population                                    sion perceive color with three types of cones, which
may not appear as a large number, but when publish-                                     are called L, M and S-cones. Each type registers light
ing in a mass market (e.g. for a major newspaper)                                       from a different portion of the spectrum. People who
the number of affected readers may reach tens of                                        confuse red and green are affected by a complete lack
thousands. Maps with smaller circulation have fewer                                     or a dysfunction of the L and M-cones. A complete
affected readers, but they may be critical members of                                   lack is called protanopia or deuteranopia. These forms
the audience.                                                                           of color impairment are relatively rare and can be
62                                                cartographic perspectives                             Number 58, Fall 2007


thought of as “pure” form of color deficiency. Dys-                            While map reading by the color impaired has not
functions of lesser degree are much more common.                           been studied extensively, it was found that readers
They are usually caused by a slight shift in sensitivity                   with impaired color vision make errors naming the
of one cone type towards another color hue in the light                    boundary lines on multi-colored terrain maps (Kuyk
spectrum (protanomaly and deuteranomaly).                                  et al., 1987). Another study confirmed that only a small
   Table 1 lists the percentages of affected males by                      percentage of color-impaired readers could name
the four forms of red-green deficiency, and illustrates                     the colors of a weather radar display without error
the perceived color spectra. The degree of impairment                      (Mertens and Milburn, 1996). A low level of illumina-
varies from one person to another between almost full                      tion further impedes successful reading of color-coded
color vision and “pure” protanopia and deuteranopia.                       information. Investigations have shown that under
Indeed, the measurable variation among individuals                         reduced illumination, subjects with impaired color vi-
with “normal” vision is so large that the boundary                         sion make considerable more errors when identifying
between normal and color impaired vision is arbi-                          color (for more details see Cole, 2004).
trary. The spectra for protanomaly and deuteranomaly                          A variety of assistive computer software can help
displayed in Table 1 (stared) are therefore very specu-                    the color impaired to more easily read color-coded
lative and only provide a rough guess of how affected                      information on screen. Examples include programs
people could perceive color.                                               such as eyePilot (http://colorhelper.com/) or Visolve
                                                                           (http://www.ryobi-sol.co.jp/visolve/en/). These
                                                                           programs do not allow color impaired individuals to
                    Cones              A ected Estimated perceived
                                       men     color spectrum
                                                                           see the full range of colors. Instead, they increase the
                                                                           contrast between confusing colors. While this assis-
Protanopia          L-cones absent         1%                              tive technology can be extremely useful to the color-
                                                                           impaired, it must be considered as a last resort. For
Protanomaly         L-cones abnormal       1%                          *   printed “hard copy” graphics, these digital tools are
                                                                           not convenient. Instead, maps and information graph-
Deuteranopia        M-cones absent         1%
                                                                           ics should be designed for universal legibility.
Deuteranomaly M-cones abnormal             5%                                 Specialized software helps the designer select
                                                                       *
                                                                           universally legible color combinations, for example
                                                                           ColorBrewer, a popular online tool that suggests
Full color vision                         92%
                                                                           color schemes (Harrower and Brewer, 2003; www.
                                                                           colorbrewer.org). Color Oracle and other simulators
Table 1. The four forms of red-green confusion. The protanopia and         of color-impaired vision are complementary tools that
deuteranopia spectra are very similar, the protanomaly and deuteranomaly   help verifying the legibility of a design.
spectra are rough estimations (numbers are rounded, after Birch, 1993).

                                                                           Color Oracle
   Women are much less likely to be affected by
red-green confusing vision than men with only 0.4%                         Color Oracle software allows the designer to see colors
women impaired (Birch, 1993). Other rare forms of                          on screen as people with color vision impairments see
color vision impairment exist, which affect less than                      them. It is permanently accessible via the Mac OS X
approximately 0.3% of all men and women. Tritanopia                        menu bar or the Windows system tray. Color Oracle
is a very rare lack of S-cones. The similarly rare mono-                   works by filtering whatever appears on the computer
chromatic vision—true color blindness as the general                       monitor, therefore its benefits are universally available
public thinks of it—impedes any discrimination based                       to all applications. The Color Oracle user triggers a
on color (see Birch 1993 for more information about                        simulation by selecting the type of color impairment
the different forms of color vision impairment).                           in a drop down menu (Figure 1). Color Oracle then
   The consequence of color vision impairment is                           takes a snapshot image of the pixel values currently
that afflicted people are slower and considerably less                      shown on the monitor, and filters the pixels accord-
successful in search tasks, when color is the primary                      ingly. The filtered image is displayed afterward in a
attribute of the target object, or if color is used to or-                 borderless full-screen window floating above all other
ganize visual displays (Cole, 2004). Seeking to address                    windows—the user sees the monitor colors switching
this problem, section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act                   to color impaired vision, without noticing the ad-
states:                                                                    ditional window. The window disappears when the
    “Color coding shall not be used as the only means                      user presses any key or clicks any mouse button. The
    of conveying information, indicating an action,                        designer can toggle between normal color vision and
    prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual                       three varieties of simulated impaired vision to iden-
    element.” 1194.25(g).                                                  tify problematic color combinations. This approach
Number 58, Fall 2007                               cartographic perspectives                                                     63

 Color Oracle Screenshot                                              Confusing and Easily Distinguished Colors


                                                                             Easily
                                                                     distinguished                                               Confusing
                                                                         colors for                                              colors for
                                                                         red-green                                               red-green
                                                                          impaired                                               impaired
                                                                         (LAB b-plane)                                           (Hues of a-plane)




                                                                    Figure 2. The Lab color mode in Photoshop can be used to explore red-green
                                                                    confusing vision.


Figure 1. Screenshot of Color Oracle on Mac OS X simulating            Besides the well-known red-green combination,
deuteranopia on a color picker wheel.
                                                                    they also confuse other color pairs, as illustrated by
does not interfere with the user’s usual workflow and                Figure 3. Swatches grouped at the left show colors that
works with any graphics or mapping software.                        readers with normal color vision can easily distin-
   Color Oracle simulates deuteranopia, protanopia,                 guish. The right side shows how red-green impaired
and tritanopia, which are the “pure” forms of color                 readers confuse these colors. Dark green, brown,
vision impairment. As explained in the previous sec-                orange and dark red in the first row appear as almost
tion, these extreme forms, which are characterized by               indistinguishable olive-green tones to the red-green
the complete functional absence of one type of cones,               impaired. The second row contains less saturated blue,
are not as common as the milder forms with partial or               turquoise and purple, which are all seen as undistin-
shifted sensitivity. These milder, intermediate forms               guishable pale violet-blue. The saturated purple and
are more difficult to simulate, since the dysfunctions               various blue tones of the third row manifest as almost
vary to a high degree from person to person. It can                 identical bluish tones. Cartographers should be wary
however be assumed that if a color scheme is legible                of pairing these colors, especially for diverging quanti-
for someone with extreme color vision impairment, it                tative color schemes.
will also be easily legible for those with a minor afflic-
tion.
   To simulate how a color will appear to a color
impaired viewer, Color Oracle uses an algorithm
based on confusion lines.2 Simulations by Color Oracle                        Normal Vision              Deuteranopia
are accurate, except for very saturated colors, which
might slightly deviate from the values that are seen by
persons with “pure” forms of color vision impairment.
The software was developed by the authors of this
article and is freely available from http://colororacle.
cartography.ch.

Color as seen by the color vision impaired                          Figure 3. Colors as they appear to readers with normal vision and
                                                                    deuteranopia.

The blue-yellow color table in Figure 2 contains an
estimation of all colors that a red-green confusing
viewer can unambiguously distinguish compared                          For example, the map in Figure 4 visualizes the
with a normal vision viewer. Other colors can only be               approval and rejection of a ballot with a diverging
distinguished with difficulty or not at all, especially              red-green scheme (top left). Shades of red and green
those along the vertical red-green ramp in Figure 2.                appear as undistinguishable shades of olive-green to
The figure shows the b-plane of the CIE Lab color                    a reader with deuteranopia (top right). Because the
space, which is similar to the colors discernable by a              brightness varies between classes, the intensity of the
red-green impaired reader. The Lab b-plane can be                   voters’ opinion can be understood, but not the type of
visualized in the color picker of Adobe Photoshop by                opinion (approval or rejection). The alternative purple-
selecting the “a” button to the right of Figure 2 and               green color scheme is also legible by the red-green im-
entering 0 in the associated field. The number of colors             paired reader (bottom row). The ColorBrewer online
that red-green confusing readers can unambiguously                  tool can help choose other, universally accessible color
distinguish is rather small.                                        schemes.
64                                                  cartographic perspectives                                            Number 58, Fall 2007




                            Diverging Red-Green Color Scheme




                            Normal Vision                                      Deuteranopia

                            Diverging Purple-Green Color Scheme




                            Normal Vision                                      Deuteranopia


Figure 4. Color schemes on a choroplethic map of voting results. Readers with deuteranopia cannot interpret the red-green scheme of the top row. The purple-
green scheme in the bottom row is legible by everyone. The diverging color ramps are depicted below the maps. (©Atlas of Switzerland 2, 2004).




Designing maps to accommodate the color vision                                  only slightly for red-green impaired readers (“poor”
impaired                                                                        column). While shifting hue from green to blue im-
                                                                                proves legibility (“better” column), the best solution
Greater clarity can be brought to maps by (1) choosing                          is achieved with distinguishing geometric shapes in
unambiguous color combinations, (2) using alternative                           combination with varying hue and saturation. The last
visual variables, and (3) directly annotating features.                         column shows that color could even be discarded and
These techniques will improve maps for those with                               the map would still be legible with differing geometric
full color vision and will establish a level of distinction                     shapes. Well-designed symbols are easy for the reader
for those with color-impaired vision. In this section,                          to decode without consulting a legend.
we concentrate on red-green confusion, since it is by
far the most frequent form of color vision impairment.                          Distinguishing line classes
   Maps are made under optimal illumination, but
they are often read in poorly illuminated rooms, hall-                          To minimize confusion, color-coded lines on maps
ways, or subway stations, making it hard to tell colors                         can be redesigned in a manner similar to color-coded
apart. A strong figure-ground contrast with a clear                              dots (Figure 6). Changes to line width must be ap-
difference in brightness and saturation, as well as a re-                       plied with care, however, since different stroke widths
duced number of classes in color ramps help everyone                            imply varying quantities (“poor” column). Directly
to more easily read a map under normal and poorly                               annotating the lines with labels is a better solution
lighted conditions.                                                             that clarifies ambiguous colors and reduces the need
                                                                                to reference a legend. Figure 7 shows an example of a
Distinguishing point classes                                                    diagrammatic transportation map that uses labels for
                                                                                metro lines and stations. Readers can follow the line to
Dot maps often use hue as the only differentiating                              its label at the route terminus to discern routes directly
variable between different classes of points. This hue                          on the map, without relying on a color-coded legend.
coding can be difficult to interpret for color-impaired
readers. Figure 5 illustrates how point symbols can be
redesigned to increase legibility. Varying the satura-
tion increases contrast and differentiates the dots
Number 58, Fall 2007                                  cartographic perspectives                                                           65


 Point Features

                               Bad                         Poor                         Better                   Best              Also best in
                             Hue Coding              Vary Saturation                   Shift Hue               Vary shape         Black & White
   Normal Vision
       Full color
           vision



    Deuteranopia
        Red-green
        confusion


        Protanopia
          Red-green
          confusion



Figure 5. Point classes typical of a dot map distinguished by saturation, hue and shape.



 Line Features

                               Bad                   Poor                 Okay                      Good                Better           Best
                            Hue Coding            Width & Sat.          Annotation                 Shift Hue            Pattern       Combination
    Normal Vision                                                                                                                     Subway
        Full color




                                                                                                                                               Riv
            vision                                                            Ro
                                                                                   u




                                                                                                                                                  er
                                                                                                                                           Ro
                                                                                                                                     Rd.

                                                                                                                                            ute
                                                                       Rd.

                                                                                   te




    Deuteranopia                                                                                                                      Subway
        Red-green

                                                                                                                                           Riv
        confusion                                                             Ro
                                                                                   u
                                                                                                                                               er
                                                                                                                                               Ro
                                                                                                                                     Rd.

                                                                                                                                                  ute
                                                                       Rd.

                                                                                   te




        Protanopia                                                                                                                    Subway
           Red-green
                                                                                                                                               Riv




           confusion                                                          Ro
                                                                                   u
                                                                                                                                                  er
                                                                                                                                           Ro
                                                                                                                                     Rd.

                                                                                                                                            ute
                                                                       Rd.

                                                                                   te




Figure 6. Line classes distinguished by width and saturation, annotation, hue and line pattern.


   Altering color hue is another way to improve leg-                                   able visual noise, for complex maps with more than a
ibility (“better” column in Figure 6). A combination                                   handful of line classes, texture can become essential.
of modified hue and saturation with varying line
patterns and annotations is our preferred solution, be-                                Distinguishing area classes
cause it is legible to everyone (“best” column). While
line patterns (dash, dot, etc.) can imply unwanted                                     Qualitative mapping can combine problem color hues
qualitative or quantitative meaning or create undesir-                                 as long as they are differentiated by saturation and
66                                                  cartographic perspectives                                          Number 58, Fall 2007



 Annotated Line Classes                                                        that many readers prefer such spectral color schemes,
                                                                               and that they are also easy to read and interpret. This
                                                                               finding challenges the opinion of many cartographers,
                                                                               who advise against the use of spectral schemes for or-
                                                                               dered data. To accommodate red-green impaired read-
                                                                               ers, Brewer makes the following suggestions: (1) Vary
                                                                               lightness on the red-orange-yellow end of the rainbow.
                                                                               (2) Omit yellow-green to avoid confusion with orange.
                                                                               (3) For bipolar data, omit green and use a scheme with
                                                                               red, orange, yellow, light blue and dark blue; and align
                                                                               the yellow-blue transition with the pivot point of the
                                                                               diverging data range.
                                                                                  The precipitation map in the first row of Figure 8,
                                                                               for example, shows low quantities of rainfall in red,
                                                                               and intermediate values in green. Hence, low and
Figure 7. Annotation of metro lines and stations in the transportation
                                                                               intermediate values appear identical for readers with
diagram of Madrid.                                                             deuteranopia. The map in the second row uses an
                                                                               alternative spectral ramp that omits yellow-green, uses
                                                                               a darker red, and places the transition between yellow
value (dark red, bright green). The use of overlay                             and blue at the mean of all values. To bring further
hatching can sometimes avoid the use of problematic                            clarity to the map, selected high and low values could
color combinations in choropleth maps.                                         be labeled when the map is printed. For a digital map,
   For continuous tone raster data where colors merge                          the user could query values by hovering the mouse
into one another, scientists often apply spectral rain-                        over map locations.
bow color ramps, which typically include red, orange,
yellow, green, blue and purple. Brewer (1997) found



                             Spectral Color Scheme




                             Normal Vision                                     Deuteranopia

                             Modi ed Spectral Color Scheme



                                                        . 268mm                                          . 268 mm

                                                     . 45mm                                           . 45 mm
                             Normal Vision                                     Deuteranopia

Figure 8. Spectral color schemes for precipitation maps with rainbow colors (top row) and with an improved spectral scheme (bottom row). Color ramps are
depicted below the maps. (Mean monthly precipitation in January, ©Atlas of Switzerland 2, 2004).
Number 58, Fall 2007                     cartographic perspectives                                           67

Conclusion                                                  References

Color impaired vision affects a significant portion         Birch, J. 1993. Diagnosis of Defective Colour Vision. Ox-
of the population and therefore must be taken into          ford University Press, 204 pp.
account by the cartographer. Color Oracle provides a
convenient method to verify that colors on a map are        Brettel, H., Viénot, F. and Mollon, J. D. 1997. Com-
legible to everyone. Indeed, we have discovered many        puterized Simulation of Color Appearance for Di-
problematic color combinations in our daily mapmak-         chromats. Journal of the Optical Society of America,
ing work thanks to the help of Color Oracle. Adjust-        14:10:2647-2655.
ing color schemes is not always simple and forces
the cartographer to reassess well-established conven-       Brewer, C. A. 1997. Spectral Schemes: Controversial
tions—for example, red-green color schemes for voting       Color Use on Maps. Cartography and Geographic Infor-
maps or rainbow color ramps for precipitation maps.         mation Systems, 24:4:203-220.
   When adjusting a color scheme, the cartographer
has to find a balance: On one side, the 8 percent of men    Cole, B. L. 2004. The Handicap of Abnormal Colour
who are color impaired have the right of equal access       Vision. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 87:4/5:258-
to information. On the other side, the 96 percent of the    275.
population with normal vision has the right for pleas-
ant maps that are easy to read. It is the cartographer’s    Fulton, J. T. 2005. Processes in Biological Vision. Chapter
responsibility to adjust colors where judged appropri-      18: Clinical Electrophysiology & Visual Abnormalities
ate.                                                        in Man. <http://www.4colorvision.com/> (February
   To avoid problematic color combinations, the             14, 2007).
cartographer should use colors with strong contrast
and supplemental visual variables, such as shape, size,     Harrower, M. and Brewer, C. A. 2003. ColorBrewer.
and pattern variations to allow all readers to discern      org: An Online Tool for Selecting Colour Schemes for
and directly interpret a symbol without consulting a        Maps. The Cartographic Journal, 40:1:27-37.
legend. Additional techniques include simplification of
the map design and annotating the map directly where        Kuyk T. K., Veres, J. G., Lahey, M. A. and Clark, D. J.
the reader might be confused.                               1987. Ability of Deutan Color Defectives to Perform
   Interactive digital maps can further support color       Simulated Air Traffic Control Tasks. American Journal of
impaired readers by providing tooltips or labels that       Optometry and Physiological Optics, 64:1:2-10.
are displayed on-demand. Digital environments
should additionally allow the user to customize color       Mertens H. W. and Milburn N. J. 1996. Performance of
schemes to suite their needs, and provide methods to        Color-dependent Air Traffic Control Tasks as a Func-
query individual values.                                    tion of Color Vision Deficiency. Aviation, Space, and
   Color Oracle provides a convenient tool for seeing       Environmental Medicine, 67:10:919-27.
maps the same way that color impaired readers do. It
is now an integral part of our workflow and we hope         Meyer, G. W. and Greenberg, D. P. 1988. Color-defec-
you also find it valuable for designing maps that are       tive Vision and Computer Graphics Displays. IEEE
universally accessible to all.                              Computer Graphcis and Applications, 8:5:28-40.

Notes                                                       Olson, J. M. and Brewer, C. A. 1997. An Evaluation
                                                            of Color Selections to Accommodate Map Users with
1. Anomalous color vision is commonly called "color-        Color-vision Impairments. Annals of the Association of
blindness". This term, however, is not appropriate          American Geographers, 87:1:103-134.
because it erroneously suggests that affected subjects
cannot see colors. This article generally uses "color       Viénot, F., Brettel, H. and Mollon, J. D. 1999. Digital
vision impairment", as suggested by Olson and Brewer        Video Colourmaps for Checking the Legibility of
(1997).                                                     Displays by Dichromats. Color Research and Application,
                                                            24:4:243-251.
2. For more information about the algorithm, see
Brettel et al. (1997) and Vienot et al. (1999). Meyer and
Greenberg (1988) propose a related method. Fulton
(2005) suggests that the confusion lines, which are the
base for this algorithm, should be improved, especially
for saturated colors.

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Jenny Kelso Color Design Lores

  • 1. Number 58, Fall 2007 cartographic perspectives 61 Mapping: Methods & Tips Color Design for the Color Vision Impaired Designers, and especially cartographers, should ensure that their work is clear to the color impaired Bernhard Jenny as well as to the viewer with full color vision. Such Institute of Cartography barrier-free, “universal” design is especially important ETH Zurich, Switzerland when readers have very limited time to read maps and jenny@karto.baug.ethz.ch information graphics, as, for example, for the reading of evacuation plans in emergency situations. Univer- Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso sal design can even be required by law: In the United The Washington Post States, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act amend- Washington, DC ments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) nvkelso@gmail.com requires disabled people receive equal or comparative access to information. Cartographers may also con- The layout of this document differs slightly from the printed version. sider barrier-free design as part of their professional Eight percent of men are affected by color vision ethics, since color vision impairment is probably the impairment – they have difficulties distinguishing most widespread physiologic impairment hampering between colors and thus confuse certain colors that map reading. the majority of people see readily. Designers of maps It is thus important for cartographers and designers and information graphics cannot disregard the needs of information graphics to know how the color vision of this relatively large group of media consum- impaired perceive color and what color combinations ers. This article discusses the most common forms are confused. The first part of this article addresses of color vision impairment, and introduces Color this question by describing the most common forms Oracle, a new software tool that assists the designer of color vision impairment, and how they affect color in verifying color schemes. Color Oracle filters maps perception. We then introduce Color Oracle, a new and graphics in real-time and efficiently integrates application for the digital simulation of color vision with existing digital workflows. The paper also impairment. This software assists designers in verify- discusses color combinations and alternative visual ing that color combinations are universally legible by variables for map symbology that those with color filtering graphics on computer monitors in real-time. vision impairments can distinguish unambiguously. The final section provides practical tips for the selec- The presented techniques help the cartographer pro- tion of colors, and demonstrates how map legibility duce maps that are easy to read for those with color can be improved by the use of alternative visual vari- vision impairments and can still look good for those ables and direct annotation. with normal color vision. Common types of color vision impairment Introduction A wide range of color vision anomalies exist – some One in twelve men sees color differently than the rest genetic and some the outcome of degenerative diseas- of the population. Afflicted by a condition often inap- es, poisoning or physical injury. The commonly called propriately described as colorblindness, these men “red-green blindness” is by far the most frequent form. confuse certain colors that the majority of people are It affects about 8% of all males, mainly causing dif- able to distinguish.1 Their perception of hue, satura- ficulty when distinguishing colors emanating from the tion and brightness varies. Color vision impairment red-green portion of the visible spectrum. is typically inherited due to a sex-linked recessive Color vision is linked to the cones that respond gene carried on the X chromosome and predominant- to light entering the eye. People with full color vi- ly affects men. Eight percent of the male population sion perceive color with three types of cones, which may not appear as a large number, but when publish- are called L, M and S-cones. Each type registers light ing in a mass market (e.g. for a major newspaper) from a different portion of the spectrum. People who the number of affected readers may reach tens of confuse red and green are affected by a complete lack thousands. Maps with smaller circulation have fewer or a dysfunction of the L and M-cones. A complete affected readers, but they may be critical members of lack is called protanopia or deuteranopia. These forms the audience. of color impairment are relatively rare and can be
  • 2. 62 cartographic perspectives Number 58, Fall 2007 thought of as “pure” form of color deficiency. Dys- While map reading by the color impaired has not functions of lesser degree are much more common. been studied extensively, it was found that readers They are usually caused by a slight shift in sensitivity with impaired color vision make errors naming the of one cone type towards another color hue in the light boundary lines on multi-colored terrain maps (Kuyk spectrum (protanomaly and deuteranomaly). et al., 1987). Another study confirmed that only a small Table 1 lists the percentages of affected males by percentage of color-impaired readers could name the four forms of red-green deficiency, and illustrates the colors of a weather radar display without error the perceived color spectra. The degree of impairment (Mertens and Milburn, 1996). A low level of illumina- varies from one person to another between almost full tion further impedes successful reading of color-coded color vision and “pure” protanopia and deuteranopia. information. Investigations have shown that under Indeed, the measurable variation among individuals reduced illumination, subjects with impaired color vi- with “normal” vision is so large that the boundary sion make considerable more errors when identifying between normal and color impaired vision is arbi- color (for more details see Cole, 2004). trary. The spectra for protanomaly and deuteranomaly A variety of assistive computer software can help displayed in Table 1 (stared) are therefore very specu- the color impaired to more easily read color-coded lative and only provide a rough guess of how affected information on screen. Examples include programs people could perceive color. such as eyePilot (http://colorhelper.com/) or Visolve (http://www.ryobi-sol.co.jp/visolve/en/). These programs do not allow color impaired individuals to Cones A ected Estimated perceived men color spectrum see the full range of colors. Instead, they increase the contrast between confusing colors. While this assis- Protanopia L-cones absent 1% tive technology can be extremely useful to the color- impaired, it must be considered as a last resort. For Protanomaly L-cones abnormal 1% * printed “hard copy” graphics, these digital tools are not convenient. Instead, maps and information graph- Deuteranopia M-cones absent 1% ics should be designed for universal legibility. Deuteranomaly M-cones abnormal 5% Specialized software helps the designer select * universally legible color combinations, for example ColorBrewer, a popular online tool that suggests Full color vision 92% color schemes (Harrower and Brewer, 2003; www. colorbrewer.org). Color Oracle and other simulators Table 1. The four forms of red-green confusion. The protanopia and of color-impaired vision are complementary tools that deuteranopia spectra are very similar, the protanomaly and deuteranomaly help verifying the legibility of a design. spectra are rough estimations (numbers are rounded, after Birch, 1993). Color Oracle Women are much less likely to be affected by red-green confusing vision than men with only 0.4% Color Oracle software allows the designer to see colors women impaired (Birch, 1993). Other rare forms of on screen as people with color vision impairments see color vision impairment exist, which affect less than them. It is permanently accessible via the Mac OS X approximately 0.3% of all men and women. Tritanopia menu bar or the Windows system tray. Color Oracle is a very rare lack of S-cones. The similarly rare mono- works by filtering whatever appears on the computer chromatic vision—true color blindness as the general monitor, therefore its benefits are universally available public thinks of it—impedes any discrimination based to all applications. The Color Oracle user triggers a on color (see Birch 1993 for more information about simulation by selecting the type of color impairment the different forms of color vision impairment). in a drop down menu (Figure 1). Color Oracle then The consequence of color vision impairment is takes a snapshot image of the pixel values currently that afflicted people are slower and considerably less shown on the monitor, and filters the pixels accord- successful in search tasks, when color is the primary ingly. The filtered image is displayed afterward in a attribute of the target object, or if color is used to or- borderless full-screen window floating above all other ganize visual displays (Cole, 2004). Seeking to address windows—the user sees the monitor colors switching this problem, section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act to color impaired vision, without noticing the ad- states: ditional window. The window disappears when the “Color coding shall not be used as the only means user presses any key or clicks any mouse button. The of conveying information, indicating an action, designer can toggle between normal color vision and prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual three varieties of simulated impaired vision to iden- element.” 1194.25(g). tify problematic color combinations. This approach
  • 3. Number 58, Fall 2007 cartographic perspectives 63 Color Oracle Screenshot Confusing and Easily Distinguished Colors Easily distinguished Confusing colors for colors for red-green red-green impaired impaired (LAB b-plane) (Hues of a-plane) Figure 2. The Lab color mode in Photoshop can be used to explore red-green confusing vision. Figure 1. Screenshot of Color Oracle on Mac OS X simulating Besides the well-known red-green combination, deuteranopia on a color picker wheel. they also confuse other color pairs, as illustrated by does not interfere with the user’s usual workflow and Figure 3. Swatches grouped at the left show colors that works with any graphics or mapping software. readers with normal color vision can easily distin- Color Oracle simulates deuteranopia, protanopia, guish. The right side shows how red-green impaired and tritanopia, which are the “pure” forms of color readers confuse these colors. Dark green, brown, vision impairment. As explained in the previous sec- orange and dark red in the first row appear as almost tion, these extreme forms, which are characterized by indistinguishable olive-green tones to the red-green the complete functional absence of one type of cones, impaired. The second row contains less saturated blue, are not as common as the milder forms with partial or turquoise and purple, which are all seen as undistin- shifted sensitivity. These milder, intermediate forms guishable pale violet-blue. The saturated purple and are more difficult to simulate, since the dysfunctions various blue tones of the third row manifest as almost vary to a high degree from person to person. It can identical bluish tones. Cartographers should be wary however be assumed that if a color scheme is legible of pairing these colors, especially for diverging quanti- for someone with extreme color vision impairment, it tative color schemes. will also be easily legible for those with a minor afflic- tion. To simulate how a color will appear to a color impaired viewer, Color Oracle uses an algorithm based on confusion lines.2 Simulations by Color Oracle Normal Vision Deuteranopia are accurate, except for very saturated colors, which might slightly deviate from the values that are seen by persons with “pure” forms of color vision impairment. The software was developed by the authors of this article and is freely available from http://colororacle. cartography.ch. Color as seen by the color vision impaired Figure 3. Colors as they appear to readers with normal vision and deuteranopia. The blue-yellow color table in Figure 2 contains an estimation of all colors that a red-green confusing viewer can unambiguously distinguish compared For example, the map in Figure 4 visualizes the with a normal vision viewer. Other colors can only be approval and rejection of a ballot with a diverging distinguished with difficulty or not at all, especially red-green scheme (top left). Shades of red and green those along the vertical red-green ramp in Figure 2. appear as undistinguishable shades of olive-green to The figure shows the b-plane of the CIE Lab color a reader with deuteranopia (top right). Because the space, which is similar to the colors discernable by a brightness varies between classes, the intensity of the red-green impaired reader. The Lab b-plane can be voters’ opinion can be understood, but not the type of visualized in the color picker of Adobe Photoshop by opinion (approval or rejection). The alternative purple- selecting the “a” button to the right of Figure 2 and green color scheme is also legible by the red-green im- entering 0 in the associated field. The number of colors paired reader (bottom row). The ColorBrewer online that red-green confusing readers can unambiguously tool can help choose other, universally accessible color distinguish is rather small. schemes.
  • 4. 64 cartographic perspectives Number 58, Fall 2007 Diverging Red-Green Color Scheme Normal Vision Deuteranopia Diverging Purple-Green Color Scheme Normal Vision Deuteranopia Figure 4. Color schemes on a choroplethic map of voting results. Readers with deuteranopia cannot interpret the red-green scheme of the top row. The purple- green scheme in the bottom row is legible by everyone. The diverging color ramps are depicted below the maps. (©Atlas of Switzerland 2, 2004). Designing maps to accommodate the color vision only slightly for red-green impaired readers (“poor” impaired column). While shifting hue from green to blue im- proves legibility (“better” column), the best solution Greater clarity can be brought to maps by (1) choosing is achieved with distinguishing geometric shapes in unambiguous color combinations, (2) using alternative combination with varying hue and saturation. The last visual variables, and (3) directly annotating features. column shows that color could even be discarded and These techniques will improve maps for those with the map would still be legible with differing geometric full color vision and will establish a level of distinction shapes. Well-designed symbols are easy for the reader for those with color-impaired vision. In this section, to decode without consulting a legend. we concentrate on red-green confusion, since it is by far the most frequent form of color vision impairment. Distinguishing line classes Maps are made under optimal illumination, but they are often read in poorly illuminated rooms, hall- To minimize confusion, color-coded lines on maps ways, or subway stations, making it hard to tell colors can be redesigned in a manner similar to color-coded apart. A strong figure-ground contrast with a clear dots (Figure 6). Changes to line width must be ap- difference in brightness and saturation, as well as a re- plied with care, however, since different stroke widths duced number of classes in color ramps help everyone imply varying quantities (“poor” column). Directly to more easily read a map under normal and poorly annotating the lines with labels is a better solution lighted conditions. that clarifies ambiguous colors and reduces the need to reference a legend. Figure 7 shows an example of a Distinguishing point classes diagrammatic transportation map that uses labels for metro lines and stations. Readers can follow the line to Dot maps often use hue as the only differentiating its label at the route terminus to discern routes directly variable between different classes of points. This hue on the map, without relying on a color-coded legend. coding can be difficult to interpret for color-impaired readers. Figure 5 illustrates how point symbols can be redesigned to increase legibility. Varying the satura- tion increases contrast and differentiates the dots
  • 5. Number 58, Fall 2007 cartographic perspectives 65 Point Features Bad Poor Better Best Also best in Hue Coding Vary Saturation Shift Hue Vary shape Black & White Normal Vision Full color vision Deuteranopia Red-green confusion Protanopia Red-green confusion Figure 5. Point classes typical of a dot map distinguished by saturation, hue and shape. Line Features Bad Poor Okay Good Better Best Hue Coding Width & Sat. Annotation Shift Hue Pattern Combination Normal Vision Subway Full color Riv vision Ro u er Ro Rd. ute Rd. te Deuteranopia Subway Red-green Riv confusion Ro u er Ro Rd. ute Rd. te Protanopia Subway Red-green Riv confusion Ro u er Ro Rd. ute Rd. te Figure 6. Line classes distinguished by width and saturation, annotation, hue and line pattern. Altering color hue is another way to improve leg- able visual noise, for complex maps with more than a ibility (“better” column in Figure 6). A combination handful of line classes, texture can become essential. of modified hue and saturation with varying line patterns and annotations is our preferred solution, be- Distinguishing area classes cause it is legible to everyone (“best” column). While line patterns (dash, dot, etc.) can imply unwanted Qualitative mapping can combine problem color hues qualitative or quantitative meaning or create undesir- as long as they are differentiated by saturation and
  • 6. 66 cartographic perspectives Number 58, Fall 2007 Annotated Line Classes that many readers prefer such spectral color schemes, and that they are also easy to read and interpret. This finding challenges the opinion of many cartographers, who advise against the use of spectral schemes for or- dered data. To accommodate red-green impaired read- ers, Brewer makes the following suggestions: (1) Vary lightness on the red-orange-yellow end of the rainbow. (2) Omit yellow-green to avoid confusion with orange. (3) For bipolar data, omit green and use a scheme with red, orange, yellow, light blue and dark blue; and align the yellow-blue transition with the pivot point of the diverging data range. The precipitation map in the first row of Figure 8, for example, shows low quantities of rainfall in red, and intermediate values in green. Hence, low and Figure 7. Annotation of metro lines and stations in the transportation intermediate values appear identical for readers with diagram of Madrid. deuteranopia. The map in the second row uses an alternative spectral ramp that omits yellow-green, uses a darker red, and places the transition between yellow value (dark red, bright green). The use of overlay and blue at the mean of all values. To bring further hatching can sometimes avoid the use of problematic clarity to the map, selected high and low values could color combinations in choropleth maps. be labeled when the map is printed. For a digital map, For continuous tone raster data where colors merge the user could query values by hovering the mouse into one another, scientists often apply spectral rain- over map locations. bow color ramps, which typically include red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Brewer (1997) found Spectral Color Scheme Normal Vision Deuteranopia Modi ed Spectral Color Scheme . 268mm . 268 mm . 45mm . 45 mm Normal Vision Deuteranopia Figure 8. Spectral color schemes for precipitation maps with rainbow colors (top row) and with an improved spectral scheme (bottom row). Color ramps are depicted below the maps. (Mean monthly precipitation in January, ©Atlas of Switzerland 2, 2004).
  • 7. Number 58, Fall 2007 cartographic perspectives 67 Conclusion References Color impaired vision affects a significant portion Birch, J. 1993. Diagnosis of Defective Colour Vision. Ox- of the population and therefore must be taken into ford University Press, 204 pp. account by the cartographer. Color Oracle provides a convenient method to verify that colors on a map are Brettel, H., Viénot, F. and Mollon, J. D. 1997. Com- legible to everyone. Indeed, we have discovered many puterized Simulation of Color Appearance for Di- problematic color combinations in our daily mapmak- chromats. Journal of the Optical Society of America, ing work thanks to the help of Color Oracle. Adjust- 14:10:2647-2655. ing color schemes is not always simple and forces the cartographer to reassess well-established conven- Brewer, C. A. 1997. Spectral Schemes: Controversial tions—for example, red-green color schemes for voting Color Use on Maps. Cartography and Geographic Infor- maps or rainbow color ramps for precipitation maps. mation Systems, 24:4:203-220. When adjusting a color scheme, the cartographer has to find a balance: On one side, the 8 percent of men Cole, B. L. 2004. The Handicap of Abnormal Colour who are color impaired have the right of equal access Vision. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 87:4/5:258- to information. On the other side, the 96 percent of the 275. population with normal vision has the right for pleas- ant maps that are easy to read. It is the cartographer’s Fulton, J. T. 2005. Processes in Biological Vision. Chapter responsibility to adjust colors where judged appropri- 18: Clinical Electrophysiology & Visual Abnormalities ate. in Man. <http://www.4colorvision.com/> (February To avoid problematic color combinations, the 14, 2007). cartographer should use colors with strong contrast and supplemental visual variables, such as shape, size, Harrower, M. and Brewer, C. A. 2003. ColorBrewer. and pattern variations to allow all readers to discern org: An Online Tool for Selecting Colour Schemes for and directly interpret a symbol without consulting a Maps. The Cartographic Journal, 40:1:27-37. legend. Additional techniques include simplification of the map design and annotating the map directly where Kuyk T. K., Veres, J. G., Lahey, M. A. and Clark, D. J. the reader might be confused. 1987. Ability of Deutan Color Defectives to Perform Interactive digital maps can further support color Simulated Air Traffic Control Tasks. American Journal of impaired readers by providing tooltips or labels that Optometry and Physiological Optics, 64:1:2-10. are displayed on-demand. Digital environments should additionally allow the user to customize color Mertens H. W. and Milburn N. J. 1996. Performance of schemes to suite their needs, and provide methods to Color-dependent Air Traffic Control Tasks as a Func- query individual values. tion of Color Vision Deficiency. Aviation, Space, and Color Oracle provides a convenient tool for seeing Environmental Medicine, 67:10:919-27. maps the same way that color impaired readers do. It is now an integral part of our workflow and we hope Meyer, G. W. and Greenberg, D. P. 1988. Color-defec- you also find it valuable for designing maps that are tive Vision and Computer Graphics Displays. IEEE universally accessible to all. Computer Graphcis and Applications, 8:5:28-40. Notes Olson, J. M. and Brewer, C. A. 1997. An Evaluation of Color Selections to Accommodate Map Users with 1. Anomalous color vision is commonly called "color- Color-vision Impairments. Annals of the Association of blindness". This term, however, is not appropriate American Geographers, 87:1:103-134. because it erroneously suggests that affected subjects cannot see colors. This article generally uses "color Viénot, F., Brettel, H. and Mollon, J. D. 1999. Digital vision impairment", as suggested by Olson and Brewer Video Colourmaps for Checking the Legibility of (1997). Displays by Dichromats. Color Research and Application, 24:4:243-251. 2. For more information about the algorithm, see Brettel et al. (1997) and Vienot et al. (1999). Meyer and Greenberg (1988) propose a related method. Fulton (2005) suggests that the confusion lines, which are the base for this algorithm, should be improved, especially for saturated colors.