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I haven't seen any studies, but there is a rare form of color blindness where people have a problem differentiating blue and yellow. I believe it occurs mostly in women.
In general, it is always a good practice to use some other form of identification than color, and this practice is required if you are trying to meet accessibility standards. In your example, the box and I assume the words "Sign In" would do the job. However, if you have another Sign In box that's another color, then you should probably figure out another way to differentiate it. Put one in a double outline or something "the red sign-in box with the double outline."
If I use color to differentiate text, for example (which I seldom do, I also put it in bold or use some additional differentiation.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of John Posada
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 9:39 AM
To: List, Techwriter
Subject: Re: Color blindness
Thanks, Char
Question.
The issue I'm addressing is whether saying "...the blue Sign In box"
is going to be impacted by those with color issues.
Do they know, through experience, that blue may be different to them,
but still recognizable as differentiators, or will it only confuse
issues.
BTW...we have widgets on our web, some with a blue background and some
with yellow, and some with orange, hence the reason for mentioning
color. Just want to know if we are introducing an issue.
On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 10:15 AM, Char James-Tanny <charjtf -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> Hi, John :-)
>
>> Does anyone know of any studies on the occurrence of color blindness
>> in the general public?
>
> Color blindness (more commonly known as "color deficiency") affects
> approximately 12% of the population, primarily males. The percentage
> varies according to the type of color deficiency (red-green,
> blue-yellow, complete absence of color).
>
>> I'm particularly interested in the effect on the color blue
>
> See http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/colorblindness.html.
>
> One thing to be aware of...those affected by color deficiency can
> actually see colors, they just don't see the same colors those without
> the deficiency do. Children are taught their colors from a really
> young age (9 months or so, depending on the child and the parents),
> but can't be tested until they can talk. My husband is color deficient
> and can easily recognize many colors, but it depends on how much color
> there is (it's easier to identify the red in a red sweatshirt than a
> shirt made of red and blue checks) and what other colors are adjacent.
> Neons and pastels pose particular difficulties.
>
> Char James-Tanny ~ JTF Associates, Inc. ~ http://www.helpstuff.com
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