color and accessibility 21May05

Thom Haslam wrote an overview on the connection between color and accessibility:

"We all know that color can make or break a site. But beyond eye candy appeal, color choices also impact usability and accessibility.

Even if it looks great at a glance, the color scheme doesn't work if many visitors can't easily find crucial information, use whatever services are offered, and effectively navigate the site. This could be up to 1 in 12 people, roughly 8% of the site's audience.

Fear not. We don't need to use only boring colors or limit our designs to imitations of Jakob Nielsen's UseIt. Once the problem is better defined, talented designers can come up with their creative solutions.

So with that goal in mind, let's review the research on color and accessibility—from theory and practice to testing and solutions."

related links

evolt.org: "Understanding Color and Accessibility"