A colorblind test in my office made me see my charts were totally broken

We had a workshop yesterday and they gave us those color vision tests. I failed the red-green one hard, which was a shock. I realized every chart I've made for the past month uses red and green as the only way to tell data apart. A coworker pointed at my latest dashboard and said 'So which sections are good here?' and I couldn't answer. I've been making things that a huge chunk of people literally cannot use. Has anyone else had a wake-up call like this about color choices?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.wesley27d ago

Ngl that's a pretty big deal though. If a chunk of your team can't read your work without help, that's a real problem. Good on you for catching it.

jamesblack28d ago

Honestly, the "huge chunk of people" part feels like a stretch. Tbh most colorblind folks I know just ask someone or figure it out from context. It's not like your charts are totally useless. Maybe just add some labels or patterns next time, but I wouldn't call it a major crisis.

the_gray28d ago

Yeah, the "just ask someone" part is what gets me. It puts the work on us to constantly have to explain our own vision to other people. It's not a crisis, but it's a daily small thing that adds up. Labels or patterns are such an easy fix that it feels lazy not to do it.