Colour-Blindness Standards and Inclusivity in Graphic Design

Graphic design has the power to captivate, inform, and inspire—it shapes the way we perceive and interact with brands and plays a massive role in communication. But, to truly connect with your audience, designers (ahem, moi) need to consider how to maximise inclusivity, including those with vision deficiencies.

Let’s delve into the importance of creating brands that adhere to colour-blindness standards (plot twist, New Zealand doesn’t have many), and how we can use graphic design to encourage accessibility for all.

Understanding Colour-Blindness

Colour-blindness, also known as colour vision deficiency, affects quite a large portion of the population. In fact, 8% of males and 0.5% of females report to have a type of colour-blindness—that’s around 300 million people. As a graphic designer, it’s crucial for me to understand what these types are and how each presents specific challenges in how someone perceives and differentiates between certain colours.

Protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia

(Very) simply put, deuteranopia and protanopia are both types of red-green colour blindness, while tritanopia is the blue-yellow kind. It’s the hues and shades of these colour pairings that can lead to confusion for those with colour-blindness, given one is practically indistinguishable from the other. Here’s an overview of how the same colours are perceived by each type of colour-blindness:

Now, let’s look at an eye diagram through the lens of normal colour vision vs. deuteranopia:

By understanding these challenges it’s easier to make informed decisions about colour usage and create more visually-inclusive designs.

Accessible Colour Palettes

Creating a visually inclusive brand identity involves establishing an accessible colour palette. But, colour isn’t the only way to convey information, so we can use other design principles to help with communication. Things like contrast, texture, typography, hierarchy, and simplicity can all aid in communicating effectively. By incorporating multiple visual (and even auditory) cues, we can ensure our work is thoughtful and understandable for a diverse range of users—for all. 

Considerations for Colour Contrast

One aspect of designing for colour-blindness is implementing a high-contrast colour palette, with an understanding of what colour combinations appear indistinguishable to colour-blind individuals. For example, red and green may look high-contrast to those with normal colour vision (which is probably why they’re used in traffic lights…), but for someone with protanopia or deuteranopia these can look very, very similar.

By incorporating high colour contrast from a colour-blind perspective, us designers have the ability to make important information accessible to all users—think medical data, government information, and even understanding which bus route route to take. Let’s look at that same graph again, with a colour-safe palette: 

Real-World Examples

Many well-known brands have recognised the importance of inclusivity and have successfully embraced accessible design practices. For instance, Instagram introduced alternative colour schemes in 2018, providing users with the option to switch to a more accessible design that accommodates colour-blind individuals. Similarly, Google Maps has implemented colour schemes that are distinguishable for individuals with colour vision deficiencies, ensuring seamless navigation and usability for all users.

Instagram (Meta) and Google are corporate giants—their reach is global, and with comes the expectation of total inclusivity. Here in New Zealand, there doesn’t seem to be any legal standards for implementing accessibility however our Government does run the Web Accessibility Guidance Project which provides guidelines for colour contrast to ensure readability and clarity for individuals with colour vision deficiencies.

Other Tools and Resources for Colour Selection

There’s a near-endless library of online tools out there, including colour simulators and accessibility guides that offer information and inspiration for designers wanting to improve the accessibility of their work. Resources like Color Oracle and Stark help to simulate various types of colour-blindness by previewing how a design might appear to colour-blind users, which is incredibly helpful when it comes to creating a brand’s colour palette.

Adobe Color allows designers to create visually accessible colour themes while they design, and you can quickly verify that the contrast ratio of text and background colour combinations meet the standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Conclusion

As a designer, I have a responsibility to create visual experiences that are accessible to everyone, and although brand identities are generally created with a target market in mind, it’s important to remember that someone can both be colour-blind and also be part of the intended audience. By understanding the challenges faced by colour-blind individuals and implementing inclusive design practices, us designers have the ability to create a sense of belonging and ensure equal access to information.

Weirdly enough, I’ve had a few conversations recently around colour-blindness in design, and I have no problem acknowledging that there are brands I’ve created or worked on that likely aren’t optimised for someone with colour-blindness. I’m all about progress over perfection here, so here’s to the future projects that have a deeper consideration for those that perhaps can’t see colour like I do.