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Debate: Does using patterns AND colors actually help or just clutter things up?

I was making a dashboard chart a few weeks ago and a coworker with deuteranopia mentioned he could barely tell my red and green bars apart. I felt dumb because I thought the colors alone were fine. So I added patterns to the bars like stripes and dots. But then my boss said it looked too busy and messy. Now I'm torn. Is adding patterns necessary for colorblind users or does it just overcomplicate the design for everyone else? Has anyone else had this conflict at work?
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2 Comments
morgan.cameron
Have you tried using different shaped icons alongside the colors?
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wren301
wren30111d ago
Ugh, that's a tough spot. Totally feel for you on this one.
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