可视化设计中的色彩应用

Proper Use of Color in Visualization

在可视化设计中,使用色彩对数据编码是十分常见且重要的方法.色彩的合理使用可以使可视化更加准确、高效地传达信息;色彩的属性与用户个体的差异共同作用,决定用户感知到的色彩.文中从可视化设计的美学出发,讨论了突显性、差异性、可读性等色彩特点,以及色彩使用数量、色彩与记忆的关系等,并分析了视觉缺陷对色彩感知的影响,阐述了可视化中有关色彩的基本理论与使用原则.

Color is one of the most important attributes in visualization design. Appropriate use of colors would enhance the effectiveness of visualization, and thus convey the intended information quickly and ac-curately. The perceived colors are determined by both visual stimuli and human's ability of visual perception. This paper discusses the importance of aesthetics in the visualization design and its relation to the choice of colors, and the properties of saliency, distinction, and visibility. It also relates the number of distinct colors to human's short-term memory, considers color blindness in visualization design, and finally, offers the basic design principles when using color.