FW: FW: thoughts on color

[Lynn Perry <CLPerry -at- WALLDATA -dot- COM>]

<snip>.  Was the study of hardcopy
> or computer-based?  </snip>
>
From what I remember, the study was hardcopy-based. BTW, I absolutely agree
that color for color's sake isn't the answer (well, depending on the
question, perhaps); I was pointing out that *my" idea of what's done for
"color's sake" may not match the actual outcome achieved by using color
(know your audience, for the upteenth time).

I should probably know the original question before I go on too long (though
historically, that rarely slows me down), but in my experience, knowledge of
information design and presentation is nearly as transferable to color as it
is to font. What I mean is that many of the "tricks" I use to organize
information -- using different font face, size, and effects (e.g., bold,
italic) -- can almost as easily be done with color instead. In fact, we use
color to set apart major information chunks in our online help (we could
rewrite the topics, but in some cases, a single, longer topic works better.
We also use color to denote Tip: and Warning: information. Finally, we use
color to border graphics when we think they need it to separate them clearly
from the text.

My .02 Eurites

C. Lynn Perry
clperry -at- walldata -dot- com
Opinions expressed are mine alone
Wall Data Incorporated, Seattle  WA
Some days it doesn't pay to gnaw through the straps

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=