Spent two days figuring out why my chart's 'warning' section was invisible to my coworker

Turns out I only used a slight orange hue shift from the 'safe' green, which my deuteranomaly coworker couldn't see at all, so now I always add a pattern or icon as a backup cue. What's your go-to method for marking key data points without relying solely on color?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_anderson671mo ago

Always add a pattern or icon" seems like overkill for most stuff. How often are your charts actually that critical?

josephs261mo ago

But what's the harm, @olivia_anderson67, if it helps even one person?

jackson.wesley27d ago

Absolutely, patterns or icons are a total lifesaver! I once made a progress chart for a client using just light green and red bars, and they had no idea which workouts were flagged as risky. @olivia_anderson67 might call it overkill, but adding a simple striped pattern to the red bars made it clear instantly. Now I always throw in a small warning symbol or change the shape of a data point. It takes two seconds and saves everyone a headache.