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Color-Blind-Friendly Design: 6 Accessibility Tips

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Don't Rely on Color Alone to Convey Information

A pattern like "the red button deletes, the green button saves" is unreadable to color-blind users if color is the only cue. Pair color with icons, text, or patterns as well.

Use Red-Green Combinations Carefully

Since red-green color blindness is the most common form, designs that place red and green side by side as the sole way to distinguish information deserve extra caution.

Ensure Sufficient Brightness Contrast

When there is a clear difference in brightness (not just hue), elements remain easy to distinguish even for someone who cannot perceive the color difference itself.

Use Patterns and Textures Alongside Color

Instead of distinguishing chart or graph categories by color alone, adding patterns like hatching or dots makes a design far more accessible.

Check Your Work With a Color-Blindness Simulator

Using the color-blindness simulation features built into many design tools to preview how a design will actually appear to color-blind users is a valuable habit to build.

Label Elements Directly Instead of Relying on a Legend

Rather than requiring users to cross-reference a distant legend by color, placing labels directly next to chart elements makes the design understandable regardless of color perception.

About 8% of Men Worldwide Have Some Form of Color Vision Deficiency

Color blindness is far more common than most people realize. When designers and developers build with these users in mind, it meaningfully improves the experience for a substantial share of all users.

Curious About Your Own Color Vision?

If you're curious whether you might have some degree of color vision deficiency, a simple self-check tool can give you a rough idea, and validated color-blind-friendly palettes like the Okabe-Ito palette are a solid starting point when building an accessible color scheme.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does color-blind-friendly design help people who aren't color blind too?

Yes β€” higher brightness contrast and the use of supporting patterns also improve readability for people with low vision, older users, and anyone viewing a screen in bright outdoor light.

Where can I find color-blind-friendly color palettes?

Verified accessible palettes like the Okabe-Ito palette are publicly available, and you can also build and check your own combinations using a color-contrast checking tool.