Commons:Creating accessible illustrations

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This page gives advice to people who create illustrations (maps, graphs, diagrams, etc.) about how to design them in such a way to be accessible to people who may not have perfect vision.

Color blind friendly palettes

[edit]

The following palettes are color-blind friendly, meaning that in a chart or diagram, people with color blindness would still see these as separate colors.

The palette with grey:
#BBBBBB Grey #E69F00 Orange #56B4E9 Sky Blue #009E73 Bluish Green #F0E442 Yellow #0072B2 Blue #D55E00 Vermilion #CC79A7 Reddish Purple
The palette with black:
#000000 Black #E69F00 Orange #56B4E9 Sky Blue #009E73 Bluish Green #F0E442 Yellow #0072B2 Blue #D55E00 Vermilion #CC79A7 Reddish Purple

Tips

[edit]
  • Use redundant coding. This means don't use color as the only way of distinguishing between items. Also use patterns or hatchings or different shapes.
  • Use colors that contrast in hue as well as brightness.

Software

[edit]

Color blindness filter in GIMP

[edit]

The GIMP is an open source, free image editing software for Windows, MacOS & Linux. It has a built-in color-blindness filter, so that you can preview how your chart or diagram would appear to a color-blind person. It can be activated from the menu View->Display filters. Click on the "Color Deficient Vision" on the left window and then on the right-pointing arrow to make it active. By clicking again on the filter, which now is in the right (active) window, you can choose which of the three main types of color blindness to simulate: Protanopia (insensitivity to red), Deyteranopia (insensitivity to green) or Tritanopia (insensitivity to blue).

[edit]