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Colour accessibility

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From: Linda Simpson
Date: May 4, 2008 8:50PM

Hi,

We've been asked to change our colour scheme on our websites to fit into our
corporate colour scheme. We currently use blue, and the colour we've been
asked to change to is now red. Our site will be using a solid background,
with white for the content area (along the lines of news.com.au). Our
concern is that such a large amount of red may cause accessibility/
usability issues (we are not only talking about the background colour but
also the navigation). We may possibly have some say into the shading of the
red, but for the moment think of a nice bright colour (#A80D35).

What we need more information about is how the colour red can affect
readability. I have done research, and I know about the w3c colour contrast
algorithm. I've also had a look at the psychology of the different colours
and that red is associated with anger and intensity.

What I am wanting to know, does anyone have any failure/ success stories of
using a large amount of red on a site without it adversely affecting users.
We also wanted to know if there was a particular range that might cause
headaches in some users. I would also be interested to know of any research
into what borders on acceptable luminosity. For example, I know in a couple
of mockups that we have done, the red has been very glary, and makes
focusing on the content quite difficult. Unfortunately, this being a
personal opinion, we need the research to back it up with.

Any help that you can give will be appreciated.

Regards,
Linda