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There actually is a science for this: it's called accessibility. WCAG guidelines would be extremely useful in determining how colors should be combined and appl
by tbarkow 8y ago
There actually is a science for this: it's called accessibility. WCAG guidelines would be extremely useful in determining how colors should be combined and applied to meet contrast guidelines.
It would also be useful to create usage contexts to guide additions to the palette. for example: text + background, ui (border, icon) + background, background + background.
These would help identify common situations and ensure that you're adding the colors you need and avoiding future bloat.
Since companies are now being sued over a11y issues, it's definitely something that should be incorporated into the design process from the beginning.
- stevenpetryk 8y agoSteve Schoger does a great job of designing with accessibility in mind! The future book that this chapter will be rolled into contains a whole discussion on it. If you check out the Refactoring UI screencasts, he uses an app (called Contrast, if you're curious) to make sure things meet AA minimum requirements.
- chiefalchemist 8y agoYes WCAG guidelines are useful. But, for me as a novice empathic but still a novice, they are not easy to use. At the very least, finding definitive examples and such often eludes me. That aside, thanks for mentioning accessibility and #A11Y.
- roryokane 8y agoHere is a tool that makes it easier to pick foreground and background colors with high enough contrast according to WCAG guidelines: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/ https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/