Re: Color Blindness and TWing

[arroxaneullman -at- aol -dot- com]

David Loveless <daveloveless -at- gmail -dot- com> asked:

1. How aware are you of color blindness?

 I'm quite aware of its existence, causes, and limitations. See 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blind for an overview.

 2. How much do you understand about color blindness (causes, 
misconceptions, results)?

 I've heard a lot of myths, but I've learned much more truth and try to 
correct others' misconceptions.

 3. How much of an affect and what affects do you believe color 
blindness has on your audience.

I worry about customers' ability to interact with our highly 
color-dependent GUI. Some developers blow me off stating that the 
default colors can be changed in the settings. I wonder just how many 
of our color blind customers even know this, let alone apply the option.

 4. What steps do you take to limit the problems caused by color 
blindness?

Where possible, documentation does not rely on color alone. However, in 
referring to some of our interface elements I'm stuck with saying "the 
green bar" or "red text" etc. I have reminded others of W3C standards. 
But, they argue, our products are not for the general public so we 
don't have to follow those silly standards. "Have to" and "should" are 
two different things. :P

 5. (This one is just for my own kicks and giggles) Are you or a 
technical communicator you know color blind?

 I have known some peers who were mildly red/green color blind, but 
none that were entirely unable to differentiate colors. Considering how 
some Tech Writers can't match a tie with a suit for their life, I 
believe a greater number are unaware of their color blindness. (OK, I'm 
just kidding!)

;)
Arroxane
 
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