Fall 2023: Tiffany C.T. Huang
Graphic Designers’ Consideration of Color Accessibility
Tiffany C.T. Huang
Communication Design, Elon University
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of an Honors thesis
Abstract
Color blindness, or more formally known as color vision deficiency (CVD), affects 8-10% of people in the United States. Those with CVD have difficulty distinguishing one hue from another and are often faced with challenges in comprehending graphic design. While studies have thoroughly investigated this subject from the perspective of colorblind individuals, virtually no study has investigated the topic from the designers’ point of view. Ten graphic designers were interviewed about their design process and how they incorporate CVD-friendly practices into their work. This research found that the professional experiences designers have had strongly influence the degree to which they consider colorblind audiences. Designers most likely to consider CVD include those who work with digital content and those who design for a wide audience. Interviews revealed that there is little reliance on tools meant to address color accessibility. Instead, designers rely on gut instinct and subjective viewpoints to choose colors for their work. Uncovering these trends in how graphic designers consider color accessibility can help influence graphic design education and result in future work that is more accessible to colorblind audiences.
Keywords: graphic design, accessible graphics, color blindness, color vision deficiency
Email: thuang@elon.edu
1. Introduction
With the recent rise in awareness for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), accessibility has gained attention. While this mostly comes in the form of physical accessibility challenges, color blindness is another impairment that can take a toll on individuals. The impact of color blindness is clearest in graphic design where color is often used as a cue to communicate information. For example, wayfinding maps in public transportation systems use different colors to indicate specific routes. However, when the colors cannot be distinguished from one another, colorblind riders may have trouble finding the right way to go. Considerations for color blindness are also important in minute details of everyday life. Simple things like differentiating red and green stoplights, finding a tan bread tab on a tan counter, and playing color-based board games can present challenges to colorblind individuals as well. Many of these challenges can be mitigated if designers were to consider more accessible color choices.
Color blindness, more formally known as color vision deficiency (CVD), occurs when people are unable to distinguish different color hues. This rarely appears as monochromacy—when someone can only see in black and white—but instead is when people are unable to see certain hues the way the majority of others can. Humans have three cones in the back of each eye: one detects red, one detects green, and the other detects blue. Individuals with CVD have one deficient cone and are unable to perceive those colors—typically red or green. Because pure red, green, or blue items are rare, CVD affects the perception of all colors. This is a largely genetic condition seen in about 8-10% of men and about 0.5% of women. However, CVD can also be an acquired impairment, as aging, glaucoma, diabetes, and even certain medications may contribute to weakening cones.
The importance of designing for colorblind audiences can be emphasized with the concept of Universal Design. Also known as the Curb Cut Effect, this is the idea that accommodating for one group will also benefit another. The curb cut—the dip in the sidewalk before a crosswalk—was first created to give those in wheelchairs the ability to easily navigate city sidewalks. However, it has proven to benefit more than just the community of physically disabled people: parents pushing strollers, bikers in the cities, and workers rolling trolleys. Adding a curb cut may have begun as an act by disability advocates, but because of its widespread benefits, it has since become something that is regularly built into architectural practices. This concept can be used to illustrate the importance of considering colorblind audiences when designing. Changes made to accommodate for CVD are not isolated to helping colorblind individuals; other people can reap the benefits, too.
While the challenges that colorblind individuals face are well documented, virtually no study has investigated the topic from graphic designers’ perspectives. Through interviews with graphic designers of various demographics and experiences, this study attempts to understand how and why graphic designers accommodate for colorblind audiences in their design process.
II. Literature Review
Scholarship related to color vision deficiency is vast. This literature review focuses on the specific relationship between graphic design and colorblind audiences. Literature shows that it is difficult to gauge public opinion on CVD’s impact and thus the necessity to accommodate for colorblind individuals. There are no enforced guidelines related to colorblind audiences that address techniques graphic designers can use in their work. This literature review will present some available solutions and tools that are used but are not yet part of standard practices.
Importance of Color
It is necessary to first understand the significance of color in graphic design. While it is just one of many design principles, color is used for “conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element” (World Wide Web Consortium, 2008). Under the graphic design principle of Emphasis, for example, making one element a different color makes it stand out and lets the viewer know that it is the visual focal point. This relationship can be demonstrated in literature concerning Management Information Systems (MIS), as color is often used in graphs or other kinds of visual information to convey specific information. Ellen Hoadley (1990), an MIS professor, analyzed studies around this subject and summarized the impact of color as follows:
- Color improves performance in a recall task
- Color improves performance in a search-and-locate task
- Color improves performance in a retention task
- Color improves comprehension of instructional materials
- Color improves performance in a decision judgement task (p. 121).
Hoadley’s (1990) own experiments also found that using colors in charts allow the viewer to process information faster and with more accuracy. She concludes that “color is a subtle variable that can significantly enhance the decision maker’s ability to extract information” (Hoadley, 1990, p. 125).
In conjunction with information processing, color can be used to influence consumer decisions. Students at Michigan State’s School of Packaging investigated how color contrast between produce and its mesh bag affects a consumer’s attention and their perception of the quality of the food. They found that consumers paid more attention to produce presented in mesh bags that were of the same or analogous color to the food. Additionally, produce in analogous colored mesh were perceived to be of higher quality (Bix et al., 2013). In package design, color can also be leveraged to catch a passerby’s attention. A package’s color allows it to stand out on the shelf in relationship to the other products around it (Stephenson, 2016). However, a survey of colorblind individuals found that for them, “color used to gain attention is ineffective” (Kaufman-Scarborough, 2001, p. 312). One survey participant said that when color is supposedly being used to grab attention, “I may not be aware that it is supposed to be happening and I may miss it” (Kaufman-Scarborough, 2001, p. 312). It is apparent that color plays an impact on consumer behavior, and if chosen without consideration for colorblind audiences, that may emerge with unintended, negative consequences.
Color is also an important consideration in branding and brand re-designs. In general, establishing a consistent brand identity can help companies differentiate themselves from competitors and also serve as “an efficient marketing tool that delivers the company’s distinctive image to consumers” (Jin et al., 2019, p. 50). Building a strong color identity is important, as color associations appeal to consumer emotions rather than the rationality that logos and slogans prompt (Singh, 2006). When consumers recognize a color, they not only think about the brand but also all the positive feelings and brand loyalty associated with it (Jin et al., 2019). Consumers with CVD may have difficulty distinguishing one brand’s colors from another, weakening the supposed positive effects color association may have on a consumer.
Challenges for Colorblind Individuals
CVD presents a wide variety of challenges, most of which relate to colorblind individuals’ ability to process information. For example, the airspeed indicator in an airplane cockpit uses red, yellow, and green to help pilots determine whether they should change the speed they’re flying at. The most common types of CVD make red and green appear yellowish, rendering the three colors indistinguishable from one another. Because the technology pilots use to navigate is based largely on color indicators, individuals with CVD are only allowed to hold a restricted pilot’s license (Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, 2022). This color dichotomy between green representing good and red representing bad is seen in the design of other things too: traffic lights, medical instruments, and even stock market charts. Notably, these pieces of technology are used in many jobs and may make entering those career fields unnecessarily difficult for those with CVD. While these good/bad associations are rooted in color psychology (Elliot & Maier, 2014), continued use of this choice is inconsiderate of colorblind individuals. From the designers’ viewpoint, choosing an ineffective scheme that colorblind individuals cannot comprehend defeats the purpose of adding color an information cue.
Although many of these challenges can be remedied by colorblind individuals asking for help, that is not always a viable solution. A study of colorblind physicians found that very few felt comfortable going out of their way to ask for assistance (Spalding, 2004). For one, there is a lack of awareness around the problem. It’s difficult to tell whether physicians are making mistakes because of poorly designed technology or because they just lack the knowledge. Spalding (2004) says, “There is a sanguine attitude of many who, despite their difficulties, believe that they are working effectively” (p. 348). Another problem that comes with colorblind individuals asking for help is that it implies they have an innate tendency to make mistakes (Spalding, 2004). By asking for help, they admit that they are unable to perform tasks as accurately without assistance. At the same time, not asking for help may have harmful effects—especially in the medical industry. It’s difficult to remedy CVD problems after they arise. Instead, these challenges should be mitigated before they occur.
Current Color Accessibility Design Guidelines
Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is a set of international guidelines that “explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities” (World Wide Web Consortium, 2018). The WCAG provides tangible rules that graphic designers can follow to accommodate for different disabilities. Included within these guidelines are contrast ratios that describe the minimum luminance between two different elements. At a minimum, Success Criterion 1.4.3 of the WCAG says that foreground (i.e., text, images, etc.) and background colors should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 (World Wide Web Consortium, 2018). Contrast ratios are a comparison of luminance, or the amount of black and white. The only exceptions for adhering to this color contrast threshold are for large-scale text, decorative text, and logotypes.
Grassroots efforts to create standards for designing for a CVD audience include the Royal Netherland Standardization Institute’s (NEN) guidelines that “focus on norms for color use in actual products and product features” (van der Geest, 2005, p. 75). This is in contrast to the WCAG guidelines that are specific only to web design. These guidelines were published by the government-sponsored non-profit as a part of a larger guide entitled “Functional use of colour—Accommodating color vision disorders” (2006). The NEN guidelines suggest two strategies: redundant coding and selecting optimal colors. Redundant coding is the use of a combination of colors, styles, patterns, and text to convey the same piece of information. On a chart for example, combining a blue background with white polka dots and a green background with crosshatches gives the viewer two ways to interpret the information: a color cue and a texture cue (Abd Ellfattah, 2014). If a viewer cannot distinguish the colors, they can rely on another visual cue to understand the information.
This concept of redundant coding is also mentioned in the WCAG but on a scale larger than just color. It says, “Instructions provided for understanding and operating content do not rely solely on sensory characteristics of components such as shape, color, size, visual location, orientation, or sound” (World Wide Web Consortium, 2018). In discussion of selecting optimal colors, the NEN guidelines suggest that designers use blue, white, yellow, grey, and black, in addition to varying luminosity between the choices (van des Geest, 2005).
There are no general bodies that enforce W3C or NEN compliance; the organizations that created these guidelines have no authority over non-compliant content. The lack of an authoritative body to enforce WCAG or NEN guidelines contributes to a lot of non-compliant content. It is up to designers themselves to take these guidelines into account and follow the suggestions put forth.
Techniques to Accommodate for Colorblind Audiences
To help graphic designers create CVD-accessible content, there are a variety of tools they can incorporate into their process. For example, Vischeck is a web-based tool where users can upload images and proof them with an applied colorblindness filter. This tool is also able to place filters that simulate color blindness on live websites. Color Oracle is an open-source application that simulates color blindness on the computer screen, regardless of which programs are being used on screen. This means designers can test their work for color accessibility as they are working in real time and don’t have to wait to export anything. Some Adobe Creative Cloud products, including Photoshop and Illustrator, also have colorblind filters built into the program. Of course, this capability is only useful for designers if Adobe Creative Cloud is the main platform they work in.
As for design techniques, graphic designers can follow the suggestions from the W3C and NEN guidelines. Redundant coding, as suggested by the NEN, is often cited in articles about accommodating for colorblind audiences. This technique can be applied to more than just charts and other data visualizations. For example, when purchasing items online, users may be prompted to scroll through different colored squares to pick the color they want to buy the product in. Instead of displaying just the color swatches, designers should include the name of the color choices, too (Abd Ellfattah, 2014). This exemplifies a redundant coding technique that does not impede on the overall design of the product. As noted by one cartographer, it’s easy to over-code and incorporate too many elements that make designs more complex than necessary (Jenny & Kelso, 2007). Thus, designers should ensure each of the redundant codes they include are useful for its intended audience and doesn’t add excessive visual noise.
Previous research has uncovered ways that graphic designers can accommodate for colorblind individuals. However, the lack of a governing body makes these guidelines difficult to enforce. There are plenty of tools and techniques that designers can use, but it is up to the designers themselves to implement these suggestions. This research will investigate whether graphic designers are actually considering color accessibility when creating and what methods they use to accommodate for CVD.
III. Methods
This research is a qualitative study of graphic designers and their consideration of color accessibility in their work. The data in this research comes from ten interviews with graphic designers currently working in the profession, and transcriptions were analyzed with the grounded theory method.
Interviewees were found through snowball sampling in which one interviewee referred and suggested other potential interviewees. Because the research pertains to graphic designers in general, it was important to interview a diverse demographic. As a result, when interviewees referred multiple participants, the researcher used discretion to choose the individuals who would best fit the needs of the study. To widen the diversity of interviewees, the researcher also used personal connections to start multiple referral chains. Having separate referral chains was a way to mitigate the common challenge of chains returning people with similar backgrounds (Biernacki & Waldorf, 1981). Before interviews were conducted, this project was reviewed by Elon University’s Institutional Research Board (IRB) and was deemed exempt. Regardless, all interviewees were asked to read and sign a consent form describing the project and its risks before participating.
Interviews were conducted one-on-one through Zoom and recorded for later transcription and coding. These 30-to-60 minute interviews were performed between March 2022 and October 2022. Participants were asked about their background, the role CVD and accessibility play in their design decisions, and the color tools they use to help them. After recording, the interviews were automatically transcribed and refined with Otter.ai. The text transcriptions were then analyzed with MAXQDA, software specially designed for qualitative data analysis.
The goal of this research is to uncover trends in the way graphic designers accommodate for color blindness and help formulate suggestions for how to promote CVD-inclusive graphic design practices. The lack of research in this area makes grounded theory an appropriate method. Instead of using this research to support or oppose previously developed theories, the conclusions will be original and emerge from the collected data. This type of research is referred to as inductive content analysis and relies heavily on repeatedly comparing the codes from one interview to the next until theories emerge (Urquhart, 2013).
Consistent with the grounded theory method’s reliance on redundant coding, analysis was performed in three rounds. The first phase was line-by-line coding in which the researcher summarized interviewee comments and reflected on the word choices made. Then, in the selective coding process, the open codes were grouped into larger categories. These categories were centered on a few core variables such as “difficulties with accessible design” and “use of app-like tools.” Creating groups of codes helped the researcher connect ideas from one interview to the others. Selective coding merely creates categories; the next step is theoretical coding where relationships between the categories are developed. This is an important step in the process, as the categories mean nothing if no relationships among them are pointed out. These relationships form the larger discoveries that will lead the discussion of results.
The process of open, selective, and theoretical coding is an iterative process that involves revisiting steps and modifying the codes depending on discoveries. Instead of completing all the interviews then the coding, the two were done in tandem. Interviews were transcribed and coded two or three at a time. The constant comparative method, a key component of the grounded theory method, involves comparing the relationships found in one set of codes to another. The emergent theories should be present in multiple interviews, so it is important to constantly make and modify theories until they match the collected data. Furthermore, the coding process uncovers ideas that can guide later interviews. Coined theoretical sampling, the developed working theories help determine what specific demographics to continue interviewing or what additional questions can be asked in later interviews (Urquhart, 2013). The coding process ends only after theoretical saturation is reached and there are no more new, emergent theories from the iterative process.
IV. Findings
Ten interviews were conducted for this study. Of the ten individuals, six identified as male, and four identified as female. Participants came from a variety of geographic locations including North Carolina (5), Connecticut (1), Illinois (1), Ohio (1), Oklahoma (1), and California (1). All participants had formal college education pertaining to graphic design or fine art, but participants held a range of degrees from associate’s (4), to bachelor’s (4), to master’s (2). The graphic design positions that the participants currently hold include packaging, corporate design, advertising agency, UX/UI designer, freelancer, and professor. However, the majority of participants have worked other positions and gained experiences from other types of design work before settling in to their current roles. Pseudonyms are used in this article to protect the identity of those participating.
Interviewees were asked about their experiences as designers and how that influences their consideration of color accessibility in the design process. Overall, six of the ten participants said they consider color vision deficiency (CVD) challenges when designing. Considering each designer’s background, it was apparent that there are specific experiences that influence a graphic designer’s consideration for color accessibility. Additionally, conversation about design methods revealed that there was little reliance on tools or specific techniques that could help designers accommodate for CVD. The following summarize trends revealed in the research.
Workplace Experiences
One of the initial themes that emerged from the interviews was the importance of tangible experiences and the impact they have on whether a graphic designer considers colorblind audiences in their process. Many participants noted that conversations around color during their formal college education were not specific to CVD challenges nor accessibility. Instead, designers credit workplace experiences over education to introducing them to this concept.
Digital Design Experience
A specific experience that influences designers to consider color accessibility includes working with digital content. Of the four designers who admitted that they do not consider CVD in their workflow, three were package designers (only three package designers were interviewed). When asked how to make their work more color accessible, one package designer did not know how approach the problem. “To be honest with you, I don’t feel like I know enough about that. I feel like I would need to be more educated,” they said. One interviewee speculates that, in comparison to digital design, practices for print design may be slower to change because designers have fallen into a habit of designing a certain way. This contrasts with digital design where designers need to stay in touch with the rapidly improving technology and incorporate it into their work in order to remain relevant.
Large Company Experience
Another factor that increases the likelihood that graphic designers consider CVD is a whether they have worked at a large, established company with an in-house design team. Presumably, large companies have more available resources to incorporate accessibility considerations into their projects. They could more easily afford for employees to take time off from their regular work duties to attend training. Plus, they might have more capital to invest in a team of experts to help their company’s products be more accessible.
The first time Karl was exposed to color accessibility was when he attended a workshop put on by the private-label director at his previous company. The target audience of the grocer he worked for was older shoppers, so the training session was centered on designing for vision loss and glaucoma. During that workshop, designers had the opportunity to put on glasses that simulated the blue-yellow colorblindness that comes with glaucoma. In that simulation, the design team learned that the white text and yellow packaging for a lemon gelato they created was difficult to read and thus inaccessible. He noted that “this was one of the first times that I realized we have to take more into consideration for design than just the basic design principles.” Another participant had a similar story where a training session at work exposed him to the importance of accessibility. His team invited a nonprofit to walk them through how screen readers access and read websites. This was an impactful session, as it gave him first-hand experience of the frustrations that came with not being able to read well. Training where designers are exposed to accessibility from the disadvantaged viewpoint leaves an impression on those involved; it helps them develop empathy for colorblind individuals. Larger companies are more likely to have the resources to fund and organize these opportunities.
Experiencing as a Team
An aspect that makes training more effective is team attendance, as a group offers a designer more opportunities to continue accessibility discussions after the session ends. Diane is a corporate designer that creates work for human resources, sales, and communication teams at her company. She first learned about designing for colorblind audiences when the company required her and other designers to attend accessibility training sessions. Because this training was done as a team, Diane said that she is able to continue these discussions with co-workers beyond that one experience. Within the design team, they still share resources they find on the subject and are able to continue holding each other accountable. Learning together raises everyone up and can make sessions more valuable, especially after the initial training is over.
Graphic designers who work in smaller team environments are able to take advantage of additional courses and training from organizations such as AIGA and Adobe. However, when asked about the type of courses that these designers attend, they mostly mention business and entrepreneurship-related topics. One designer said she learned about designing and being creative in her formal education, but not much related to running her own business. As a result, when she has the time to attend training sessions, she is more inclined to attend courses that are related to running her own agency. Designers who need to wear many hats on top of their design duties are less likely to attend these training sessions that are valuable in changing the way designers think about accessibility.
Nonprofit Experience
Another design experience that largely influences a graphic designer to consider color accessibility is past work with nonprofits. One interviewee currently works with a creative agency whose primary clients are nonprofits. He said that because most of their clients work within the DEI space, the clients care about accessibility and will look for it in the final product. In fact, he estimated that a third of his clients will explicitly ask about color accessibility when discussing strategy and products with the agency. Another interviewee whose past experience includes a large, Fortune 500 company, said that he was introduced to designing for accessibility when the company began engaging in corporate social responsibility projects with nonprofits focusing on disabilities. He became more conscious of his color use on those projects, as he knew the target audience may otherwise have trouble understanding his work. One participant specifically credited her time working on the corporate design team of nonprofits as a key to why she considers color accessibility in all of her designs. She said that “working for larger companies and agencies that have a diverse client group…opened [her] eyes to the need [for accessible design].”
Methods to Accommodate for Color Accessibility
While many of the graphic designers interviewed in this study say that they consider color accessibility when they create, it is interesting to note that most of them do not use tools that were specifically made for ensuring color accessibility. During the interviews, only one participant was able to name specific tools that they used during the design process. This designer used two online tools called Contrast Checker and Colorable (www.colorable.jxnblk.com). In place of tools, designers mostly rely on their prior knowledge and gut instinct for determining whether their color choices are accessible. One interviewee talked about “preference and what feels right” for the project. He noted that there is subjectivity in how the designers interpret client requests, especially since many involve intangible concepts like “fresh” or “celebratory.” This sentiment is mirrored in other interviews, with some mentioning a reliance on their fine art background and understanding of color psychology to choose colors.
One method that designers discussed as helping to make sure their work is accessible is a reliance on experts for additional help. One graphic designer’s workplace has a specific team dedicated to usability testing and making sure that the company’s website and app are accessible. However, the company in question earns more than $100 billion in revenue every year and thus has resources to dedicate to the cause. At another interviewee’s past job, the company used accessibility consultants to review large projects. A Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) is someone with the skills and knowledge to assess the web and other digital technologies against accessibility-related standards, laws, and management strategies (“CPACC About,” n.d.). This certification is provided by G3ict, the organization behind the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. A CPACC helps the designer by noting accessibility errors like poor color contrast, small type sizes, and incorrect PDF tagging. Designers then take the advice and remediate any problems.
Regardless, interviews showed that very few designers take the initiative to use the design tools that are specifically meant to test and measure color accessibility. Participants mentioned that using tools restricts the creativity that designers want to leverage in their work. Instead, they elect to use their intuition and prior knowledge.
However, in order to break rules, designers must first understand what the rules even are. The large majority of participants were unaware that there were measurable, ideal ratios to determine whether color choices are accessible. They instead use their own perspective to speculate whether a design is CVD accessible or not. One designer said that before publishing any work, she previews everything in black and white. If there are colors that do not stand out against each other, she will adjust the color or overlay a texture. Less tangibly, many designers just say that they simply take a look at the work and will change the colors if they personally cannot make out design elements. One said, “If I can’t read it, and I have perfect vision, how [can] anybody else.” Another echoed this sentiment, saying “My eyes are fine, but like, I’m sitting here, and if I can’t read it, no one else can.”
While some designers are considering what colorblind audiences would be able to understand, there is no guarantee that the slight adjustments they make are sufficient for CVD accessibility. As participants acknowledged, they do not have CVD and are unable to see from the perspective of a colorblind viewer. Using tools such as the colorblind filters built into Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator would give designers a more accurate perspective of what colors they need to adjust and how they should change the colors. Without it, they are simply making assumptions about what is enough.
If designers have a prior understanding of the rules in place, then it is more forgiving to rely on intuition to choose colors. The designer who worked with an accessibility consultant at her old job now owns her own agency. Comparatively, she does not have the resources to hire a consultant for every project. However, she says that she learned a lot when working with the consultant. The more work she did with a consultant, the easier it became for her to pick out problems in her work. She could correct her designing methodology and anything she know would present a problem before sharing her work. Now, even when she works with smaller clients whose projects may not warrant a full consultation, her natural process already mitigates many of the common accessibility challenges. Checking things like color contrast is now part of every project she creates.
On the other hand, some designers merely believe they understand accessibility. One designer who claims that he considers CVD in every single piece said “I’ve been doing this a lot. I don’t necessarily recall any specific guidelines. It’s just kind of intuitive at this point.” He proceeded by describing color accessibility in terms of primary colors and complementary color schemes. Although color theory plays a role in color accessibility, the main consideration should be contrast. It’s noticeable that he does not have a sufficient understanding of what designing for colorblind audiences entails. A danger of designers constantly relying on their intuition and unmeasurable techniques means they may incorrectly be confident in their own knowledge and be unwilling to properly learn about accessibility.
Responsibility
Considering the importance of color accessibility, it’s imperative that someone within the hierarchy of designers understands it. If designers themselves are unaware of what is necessary to create CVD accessible work, leadership should be conscious of it. In the interviews, a few graphic designers expressed this mindset, saying that the responsibility falls on team leaders and creative directors. They have the final say in whether a project is published, so they should take part in checking whether a design is accessible to colorblind audiences. One participant said that when creating, designers, especially those who are newer to the field, may not think about color accessibility. Creative directors and other team members should help them grow by pointing out inaccessible parts of their work.
When analyzing the positions that people hold at their current job, it is interesting to note that junior designers are the ones who expect creative directors to take on the responsibility of making sure work is CVD-accessible. Conversely, creative directors and those in leadership positions expect their employees to already understand color accessibility and what that would entail. One designer who serves as the creative director of a small agency said,
I hope to hire and work with designers [for whom] that’s just understood, and I don’t have to question it. I would expect that to be part of any designer that we hire. I would expect them to know enough about [color accessibility] to incorporate that into their practice.
Another person mirrored this sentiment, saying that although leadership may get a bad rap, it is ultimately the designers who created that content. A difference may be that junior designers take longer to create accessible work because those thoughts don’t come immediately. But at the end of the day, designers should still take ownership of their craft and make sure that the work they create is as great as possible.
V. Discussion
Theoretical coding of the results strongly suggests that current graphic design practices do not place enough emphasis on the importance of color accessibility. Current graphic design education about CVD is sporadic, if addressed at all. There is a major discrepancy between what are best practices and what designers believe are proper ways to verify color accessibility. To resolve this and other matters on contention, transformation must begin at the top. Creative directors, as designers at top of the hierarchy, should recognize the need for color accessibility training and introduce it to their team. Although they may assume junior designers have an understanding of CVD, their knowledge is often not specific to color accessibility nor comprehensive enough to include all the tools that they can use to support their design process. The same could be said about the higher education sphere. Professors should take on the responsibility to create impactful experiences that help students develop design practices that are more color accessible.
To create the most impactful experiences surrounding CVD, learning should focus on interactive training sessions. As discussed by the participants, hands-on training, in comparison to learning from a book or professor, is most effective in changing designers’ graphic design practices. Additionally, designers should be able to experience their work from a disadvantaged viewpoint. Knowing that “high color contrast” is necessary for color accessibility does not always translate to sufficient contrast, especially if tools are not being used to measure compliance. So, without experiencing the challenges created by their own work, it may be easy for designers to dismiss color accessibility and say that their work does not present challenges.
Drawing inspiration from sessions mentioned by participants, there are various ways that effective training can be accomplished. Many training sessions are taught by outside experts. Partnering with a local nonprofit can be a low cost or free way to bring CVD training to the workplace or school environment. At the same time, creative directors or professors who have a strong understanding of the topic can also create their own training session. There are many free tools that leaders can use. For instance, they can employ the colorblind filters that are built into Adobe programs. In Illustrator, this can be found by navigating to View > Proof Setup and choosing Color blindness – Protanopia-type or Color blindness – Deuteranopia-type. This will simulate how someone with CVD will experience a design, and the designers can continue to adjust their work to make sure they’re achieving the intended purpose of that piece.
Another aspect that could improve how designers address CVD is exposure to multiple areas of graphic design. As expressed in interviews, individuals with different positions had different understandings of color accessibility. It can be concluded that different areas of design have different requirements, and exposure to each allows designers to combine knowledge and create practices that are more inclusive. This is similar to the idea behind athletic cross-training: Learning from a completely different area can make individuals more knowledgeable and prepared in their own line of work.
Specifically, emphasis should be placed on teaching digital design, corporate design, and pursuing nonprofit work. These are the experiences that interviewees cited as having the most impact on their perspective of color accessibility. For students, this can come in the form of different projects. For graphic design professionals, this could be encouragement to work different jobs and positions. Training sessions that target areas outside of designers’ expertise will also help accelerate the understanding of different design aspects. Just as consumer-packaged goods designers learn about FDA rules and regulation through their projects, UX/UI projects would expose designers to the WCAG and all the different ways to make digital design accessible. Corporate design experience is also valuable, as designing for a corporation that already has established color themes would give individuals the challenge of creating accessible work within limitations. It’s important to understand that corporations often have a wide audience, making it even more imperative that designs are inclusive and accessible to as many identities as possible.
Producing work for a nonprofit can also be beneficial for designers because those clients often care about accessibility and will require it. Larger corporations should expand their corporate social responsibilities to include more nonprofit work, as it helps improve the in-house design team. Those who have agency over their own work and projects should reach out to non-profits and gain experience working with a client that places a heavy importance on DEI. In higher education, students can be offered the opportunity in class to work directly with clients that are likely to bring up color accessibility concerns. Nonprofit work is a great way to not just improve the lives of those in the community but also serves as a way for graphic designers to build inclusive practices they can apply to all projects.
Designers can continue their education in many ways. Ideally, workplaces would provide consistent training that expose designers to changes within the industry. This could include regularly sharing new regulations, new tools to use, or just exposing designers to new areas of accessibility to consider. As expressed in the interviews, designers are not inconsiderate of color accessibility because they deny that it is an important accommodation. Instead, designers are simply unaware of the specific rules they could follow and the tools they could use. Making these sessions required would allow designers to realize aspects of design that they didn’t know even existed.
It may seem as though designers who are not a part of these large corporations do not have immediate access to these training. However, the interviewees in this study share that designers who own their own agency are often well connected to professional networks through AIGA or LinkedIn or design conferences. There are many learning opportunities within these experiences. Because there is no one above them in the hierarchy, it is up to the designers themselves to take up that responsibility and recognize that they should seek out experiences that will expose them to a greater diversity of design experiences.
VI. Conclusion
This study stems from the individual experiences of ten graphic designers. While their experiences are not reflective of all graphic designers, this study is still able to deduce graphic designers’ sentiment and consideration for color accessibility. Graphic designers are not intentionally disregarding the CVD population. Instead, this oversight is a result of designers not having enough exposure to color vision deficiency and how they can properly accommodate for it. Thus, the findings from this study suggest that more awareness and training need to be incorporated into both the workplace and formal education.
Considering the limitations of qualitative research, this study relies only on a small sample size that may not provide a thorough look at the graphic design industry. Expanding the sample to include more individuals from each type of design would help build a more exhaustive look at the different perspectives on color accessibility. Other perspectives not currently included that could provide an interesting take on the subject include individuals that work at a design industry leader like Adobe or individuals who work with newspapers where designs are mostly black and white.
With the growing interest in DEI and the steps that people can take to accommodate for diverse audiences, more attention should be placed on CVD and color accessibility. Currently, the importance of color accessibility in the field of graphic design falls behind that of other DEI aspects. Fostering care and attention for CVD, as revealed in the interviews, does not require revolutionary steps. Instead, creating sufficient and effective training can help expose graphic designers to yet another way they can accommodate for DEI considerations. Not only will these changes help contribute to a more accessible and comprehendible world, but everyone, no matter their abilities, can reap the benefits of more accessible color design.
Acknowledgements
This study is an abbreviated version of a thesis project completed through Elon University’s Honors program. The project was only possible through the advice and support of my thesis mentor, Dr. Harlen Makemson. His guidance throughout the process helped make sure this project was completed as thoroughly and as well as possible.
Of course, thank you to my friends and family for their support and interest in the project. Everyone’s curiosity in my progress helped propel me forward and show excitement in sharing my work.
Lastly, and unironically, shout out to my dad and Kevin Scott for their colorblind genes and my grandparents for their weakening color perception. I hope we’re able to learn from your hardships and create more accessible work in the future.
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