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Designing for Color-Blind Viewers

What does your design look like when viewed through the eyes of someone that's color blind? Not everyone can see all colors, but they do need to be able to recognize what different colors can mean on some signs, particularly safety signs and notification signs. While accommodating color blind viewers is not yet a universal requirement to assist those with this disability, many countries do require such an accommodation. This means there is a precedent for constructing design work in this way.

If you are asked to design something for color blind viewers, it can be done. Here are some ways you can approach it.

Consider the different types of color blindness when preparing printed materials for this segment of the population:

Protanopia

Red, orange, and yellow don't appear as brightly to these people. These colors may appear as black or gray to them. People with protanopia also have difficulty telling the difference between violet, blue, lavender, and purple.

Deuteranopia

People with deuteranopia cannot distinguish between red, yellow, and green. These colors all look the same to them. Unlike people with protanopia, however, they do not experience the colors appearing dimmer than they really are. They experience the full brightness of the colors they see.

If you're not color blind, how can you experience what color blind viewers will experience? Photoshop can simulate that experience with these two proofing commands:

View > Proof Setup > Color Blindness - Protanopia Type
View > Proof Setup > Color Blindness - Deuteranopia Type

These commands allow you to see the way designs will look to people with the two types of color blindness listed above. Once you know how a color blind person will actually see your design, you can use all of the other Photoshop tools at your disposal to adjust the design as needed. This will help you design documents and signs that are truly viewer friendly to color blind people.

The most important thing to remember is that for most people with colorblindness, it is not so much distinguishing one color from another that is the problem, as it is differentiating between shades and brightness levels of similar colors. You can do your colorblind viewers a tremendous favor by making colors bright and never mixing gradients of shades of a color on a document or sign.

Another helpful thing for colorblind viewers is having some kind of visual texture, especially on infographics. If you are creating a graphic chart, for example, and it uses different colors, try putting some light or dark bands across some of the bars or pie wedges on your graph. Even if your colorblind users can't distinguish the color, they will know what is what on the chart by the visual textures.

Finally, try to avoid using any signage that requires identification of something by color alone. This is a popular design trend that many people think makes things simpler, but it is a nightmare for colorblind viewers. Always include some kind of accompanying text, so if a colorblind person can't distinguish a color, they can always read the words.

Public signs are the most common types that need color distinction to convey messages, although some private signs may rely on this, as well. Keep the differences in mind on how color blind people view various colors, whether they can see those colors at all, and how those color perceptions will impact their ability to interpret the print. Use this knowledge to design the print appropriately, and your buyer will be satisfied.



Photoshop CC: Visual QuickStart Guide
by Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas

REVIEW
This best-selling guide from authors Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas has been the go-to tutorial and reference book for photography/design professionals and the textbook of choice in college classrooms for decades. This edition includes their trademark features of clear, concise, step-by-step instructions; hundreds of full-color images; screen captures of program features; and supplemental tips and sidebars in every chapter.

Among the new CC features covered in this extensively updated guide are: Smart Sharpen, Adobe Camera Raw as filter, intelligent upscaling, multi-shape and path selection, and camera shake reduction. New and updated Photoshop CC features are clearly marked with bright red stars in both the table of contents and main text.

Eco Friendly

Eco-friendly promotional products are good for the environment and good for getting your message across to your target audience.

Tradeshows

Promotional items that endorse your business are great items to give away at tradeshows. They offer endless opportunities to get your message across to new audiences.

Corporate Gifts

Show employee appreciation and build company morale. Items such as flash drives, picture frames, desk accessories and computer mice make great employee gifts.

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View our newest promotional products! We are constantly adding new items to our 300,000+ inventory to give you fresh and up-to-date choices every day.

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Awards and recognition gifts say thank you to employees for a job well done. We carry awards, plaques, trophies, ribbons and much more.

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Promotional Products

We carry promotional items such as eco-friendly gifts, awards, corporate gifts, new products and tradeshow items.

Business Stationery

Our business card program streamlines your order process yet gives you complete control over your content. Letterhead, envelopes and pocket cards too!

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We carry holiday and occasion cards, moving announcements, thank you notes and more. Customize your cards with logo imprints and other options!

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We print company phone pads, note pads and forms in various sizes. Personalize them with your company logo, names and contact information.

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Full color announcements and programs for fundraisers, trade shows, banquets and agendas. We also foil stamp, emboss and die cut.

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We print full color single to multi-sheet newsletters, product sheets, tri-folds, rack cards, handouts and promotional literature.

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Offset Printing

We print items such as business stationary, brochures, occasion cards, memos & notepads, programs and announcements.

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Look here for a glossary of the most common terms in the printing industry.

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Tips & Tricks

Design and tech tips to make designing your job a little easier, marketing tips to assist your advertising efforts and print tips for faster, less expensive buying.

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Pitch books and investment books help you communicate your message with PowerPoint presentations, graphs, and charts. Custom binding and tabs available.

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We can print 1-5000+ copies of your training, safety and operational manuals and technical documents. Full color, B&W, binding, inserts, index tabs, even lamination.

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Our high-speed, high quality B&W laser printers produce crisp, clean copies of legal documents, RFP's, variable data, digital output of files, manuals and more.

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Do you need digital scans of your important documents? Letter, legal, 11 x 17, oversize? We can PDF your documents or OCR scan your files to create searchable, editable text files.

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Our high-quality digital color presses turn out beautiful invitations, flyers, brochures, newsletters, rack cards, coupons and more. We can also print large format prints and maps.

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We print B&W and color copies of presentations, product sheets, manuals, newletters, brochures, postcards and more. We also do archival scanning.

Maps & Prints

We print oversized, digital prints of well-logs, operational flow charts and pipe line maps. Turn your maps and prints into digital files for emailing and archiving.

Banners

Full color, affordable, retractable banners make great trade shows displays, point of purchase signage, directional signage and outdoor vinyl banners.

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We scan large format documents such as well-logs, engineering plans and maps to digital files. Your PDF digital scans can be easily archived to CD.

Posters

Our digitally printed posters and prints are exceptional, with crisp, vibrant colors and photographic quality. Custom stock, mounting and laminating available.

Event Signage

Catch people's attention with color signage! We produce banners stands, pop up and hanging displays, full color table covers and tabletop displays.

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Large Format Printing

We print event signage, maps, banners, well-logs, posters, prints and more. We also do oversize scanning.

Eco Friendly Tradeshows Corporate Gifts New Products Awards ? Promotional Products Promotional Products Business Stationery Occasion Cards Memos & Notepads Programs & Announcements Brochures ? Offset Printing Offset Printing Tips & Tricks Tutorials Printing Terms Templates FAQ's ? Tips & Tricks Tips & Tricks Presentations Manuals Black and White Copies Archiving Color Copies ? Digital Printing Digital Printing Maps & Prints Banners Oversize Scans Posters Event Signage ? Large Format Printing Large Format Printing Send A File Forms Factory My Jobs Place Order Request Estimate