My step-father is red-green color blind, and growing up, I always found it fascinating to be able to learn from him about how he perceives and interacts with the world around him.
I remember one day he wore a beautiful lilac shirt with a corresponding lilac and gray tie. I had never seen that shirt before, but one thing was for sure: He looked sharp!
When I complimented him, I noticed he was super uncomfortable. It was then I learned that the reason he never wears it is because to him, it appears hot pink.
Hot pink happened to be a color he despised.
As we’re traveling full time around the US I am frequently looking for cool tee shirts to send to him – always sure to avoid red and green clothes. Sometimes, I even have to call my mom to ask about certain colors/shades, because I want him to be comfortable in what he wears.
And, as I have embarked on my Just Marketing® journey as an entrepreneur in recent years, I realize how much of that history has stuck with me, and how much I have been able to apply those valuable lessons to my business.
Color Blindness: The Facts
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 350 million people across the globe are visually impaired.
One in 12 men (including my stepdad) are color blind. The number is one in 200 for women.
Why You Need to Take it Into Consideration in Your Marketing Efforts
Marketing for everyone has to be just that…for EVERYONE.
So, if you consider yourself a just marketer, which means that all of your marketing is produced through an ethical, equitable, and accessible lens, it only makes sense to keep this huge portion of the population in mind.
Color-blind folks aside, grayscale is also a preferable option for people who want to reduce stress on their eyes while browsing online.
For those who fall within the color-blind population, or just those who are interested in taking advantage of that grayscale option, using proper color contrast is like a breath of fresh air.
The right color contrast makes your content readable.
The wrong color contrast, on the other hand, makes your content relatively inaccessible depending on who is reading it.
So What is the “Right” Color Contrast to Use?
As is our custom here, we always try to proffer ideas as to how we can achieve the change we seek in marketing. So, here are some basic do’s and don’t to get your wheels turning, as well as some additional information that falls more on the techy side of things in the realm of color contrasts.
DO: Use any color of your choice.
DON'T: Use a combination of [green & red] or [yellow & blue] in your graphics.
For your visual content, the ideal contrast between the background and the accompanying text color should be at the ratio of 4.5:1. This is as recommended by WCAG.
The larger your text, the lower your ratio, and vice versa.
Now, I know it can get overwhelming trying to do the math, especially if you are not a numbers person. But when you feel overwhelmed, remember, that overcoming these challenges means that your online content will be truly accessible, and thus, read by a much wider audience.
And, thankfully, there is a tool called WebAIM Contrast Checker available that makes the process pretty simple!
About Your Brand Colors
I recommend checking your brand colors to ensure there is enough contrast between your primary foreground colors and your primary background colors.
If not, you should consider adjusting your branding colors to make it easier for people to consume your content. This information should be clearly articulated in your business's branding guide.
Practical Tips
- Don't rely on color coding alone on graphs/infographics and charts. Rather, combine with patterns/textures and consider using an icon on your buttons so that identifying their presence isn't solely tied to color.
- Visualize links with an underline (ie. don't rely on a different color text alone).
- Sans Serif typefaces are typically considered easier to read than Serif or Script fonts.
- Text can be difficult to read on images, so consider using a solid background or opaque overlay.
- All information that is conveyed by color, such as using red and green to indicate yes and no, should also be conveyed in another format, such as pattern or through text.
- Test your designs and your website in grayscale to see if you still have a positive user experience.
- Ensure that all of your buttons stand out clearly. Your copy too. If they are not, make them more accessible.
The idea is to use color to enhance communication, but to avoid relying on it completely to convey an idea.
The Just Marketing® Podcast: For Equity-Centered Marketers & Entrepreneurs
If you found this content helpful, then you’d probably love the Just Marketing® Podcast!
With a focus on inclusion and accessibility for marketers on social media and beyond, we dive deep into how to market your business through an equity-centered lens.
Why? Because the more people talking about this the better. There is so much work to be done in the realm of equity-centered marketing and we want to build a community that will advance this shift in marketing as we know it.
To make marketing more inclusive and accessible.
We release new episodes of the Just Marketing® podcast every week and you can listen wherever you listen to your podcasts.
