Why is Color Contrast Important?
Worldwide, an estimated 8% of men and 0.5% of women have some form of color blindness. Color blindness does not necessarily mean that someone can only see shades of gray. There are many different types of color blindness, with the majority seeing some color. It is essential to have a good color contrast and not be dependent on colors to convey information.
For individuals who are color blind or color deficient, it may be difficult, or even impossible, to interpret information based on color alone. Having sufficient color contrast benefits everyone by making the media easier to understand. While you may choose colors that you enjoy, they may not always be accessible. It is important to check your media and verify that there is sufficient contrast between the colors. Designs can be both aesthetically pleasing and accessible.
Not Everyone Sees Color the Same Way
The human eye has three types of cones, which are responsible for perceiving color. Most people have all three types of cones: red, green, and blue. Take a look at the different types of color blindness below and compare how true color is perceived by individuals with different types of color blindness and color deficiencies.
True Color - How color is perceived by someone who has all three types of cones in their eyes. They can see all colors of the rainbow.
Protanopia - a type of red-green color blindness where the red cones in the eye are missing entirely. The rainbow consists of mostly blues and golds.
Deuteranopia - a type of red-green color blindness where the green cones in the eye are missing entirely. The rainbow consists of mostly blues and golds.
Tritanopia - a type of blue-yellow color blindness where the blue cones in the eye are missing entirely. The rainbow consists of reds, light blues, pinks, and lavenders.
Achromatopsia/Monochromacy - the rarest type of color blindness. In this type, all of the cones in the eye are missing, making everything appear in shades of gray.
Free Online Color Contrast Checkers
Now that we know the importance of color contrast, how can we check color contrast in our media? My two favorite online resources are WebAIM and Adobe Color, which are both free and easy to use:
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https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
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