ABSTRACT
Use color-coding to distinguish critical information from non-critical information, draw users’ attention to precautionary statements, highlight touch points, and help users identify and match components. Color-coding is a powerful design tool. The human eye and brain are normally quite sensitive to color differences. Color codes are often abstractions, whereby the meaning of a color is learned rather than naturally related to a real-world characteristic. In contrast, some color meanings are drawn from real-world characteristics. Detecting a single visual item embedded among others can be difficult, even if there is some shape distinction. However, a difference in color can make an item “pop out.” In many cultures, red means “stop,” which is why emergency stop buttons are often red. Imagine color-coding an escalator’s emergency stop button ocher instead of red. In particular, color-coding can be used to create an association between on-screen elements and ensure that a cable or tube gets attached to the correct port.
