Blue and Green in Blog Design?

Posted by Roger Wheatley on September 28, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

While I normally do not discuss blog design issues related to colour, in this blog, I came across an interesting issue. In particular, where the primary colours for a website were blue and green.

Many users I suspect, may not consider this has a huge impact on web usability. In particular when the page background colour is green and the navigation buttons (and drop downs) are blue. According to the last statistics I read (several years ago), approximately:

• 1 out of every 15 males and
• 1 out of 25 females

have some type of colour blindness. As a result, it’s unreasonable to expect millions of people who see colour differently, to easily navigate such a website.

People with colour blindness have difficulty seeing red, green, blue, and mixtures of those colours.

The following images display how different people see colour:

Colours as seen by the majority (the complete rainbow).

Deuteranope: Simulation showing the absence of green retinal photoreceptors

Protanope: Simulation showing the absence of red retinal photoreceptors

Tritanope: Simulation showing the abscence of blue retinal receptors

Given the above simulated example of how people perceive colour differently, it’s understandable how critical the choice of mixing different colours within our blogs can be. Blue and green together as dominant site colours? – Apparently not.

For meer interest, take a look at some of the common standard tests below. What do you see?

People with normal colour vision should not see any number. Those with red-green blindness should see the number 5

People with normal colour vision should see the number 6

People with normal colour vision should see the number 74

People with normal colour vision should see the number 29. Those with red-green blindness should see the number 70

The above is simply another consideration regarding our choice of colour usage. When we design blog interfaces, it’s paramount that we take into consideration the needs and expectations of our visitors. After all, we design blogs (and websites) for them, not for our personal preferences.

Roger Wheatley, Freelancer, has extensive experience in the Blogging, Web and Social Media. He provides clients with the highest level of service. Among other services, he keeps abreast of new and upcoming Social Media trends and benefits, so you can focus on operating your business. If you'd like to know more, feel free to use the easy contact form or read Roger's bio