Colour in Graphics and Visualisation

1. Colour in Graphics and Visualisation Using colour on VDU displays for graphical presentations

2. Colour in Graphics and Visualisation • Charts • line-graphics • Emphasising graphics • “3D” representations • Bar-charts • Pie-charts • Line and block drawings • Visualisations

3. Two-dimensional charts • Neutral background is preferred: • Lines will keep their colour • Coloured background might confuse line shapes • Use neutrals (black or white) for axes • Synchronise labelling and colour use • Design colour scheme for importance

7. A/ Be careful in selecting colour; B/ Using secondary cues; C/Application depending colour scheme D/ Overlapping fields

8. Colour in Bar- and Pie Charts • Do not overdo! • Associate to subject matter • Use neutral or pale background colours • Use vivid colours only to emphasis most important subjects • Use labels for better understanding • Get it right in black and white

9. Example of bad choice of colours

10. Simple solution of coloured bar-chart

11. Separating data with colour

12. Pie-charts • Separate slices with colour

13. Colour in line and block drawigns • Use colour sparingly where it has specific function in relation to the data • Use colour for • separation • identification • emphasis • Decide why to use colour

14. Coloured block diagram: Bad example • Over-coloured • Red power supply over-emphasises • Too thin lines • Coloured background - bad readability

15. Coloured block diagram:Good example

16. Visualisation • Visualise: to call up a clear visual image • Raw numeric data translated into a spatial or spatio-temporal patter • animation • virtual “three-dimensional” images • Visualise for • exploring data • communicate results

17. Exploratory visualisation • Try to understand the data by visualisation • Experiment with different colouring schemes • Be careful, do not let yourself misled by by colour effect • If used for video or animation check for artefacts

18. Colour scales for visualisation • A sequence of data can be visualised by a sequence of colours • Rainbow • Colour bar set of computer • Saturation scale • Temperature scale • Hot/Cold scale • Geographic scale

19. Colour scales - 1

20. Temperature and geogr. scales

21. Temperature scale: over-coloured slide

22. Hot/Cold pseudo colour scale

23. Maps and contoured data • Use overall neutral background • Use desaturated colours for specific areas • Try to relate colours to data (woods, water, etc.) • Saturated colours: only small items, for emphasis (to find an item)

24. Geographic coloration

25. False coloration

26. Map with information in 3rd dimension

27. Pseudo-colouring in an animated simulation

28. 3-D visualisation Molecular structure model with highlights to emphasise spherical shapes

29. Designing a kitchen Main points of the design: - Selecting items, - layout, - colouring from a palette (size effect!).

30. Virtual Reality Displays • Visual, auditory, etc. sensory inputs • Helmet for stereoscopic images • head motion detected • stereo sound • tactile gloves - clothing • Simulated realities • colours stronger in virtual reality presentation then on monitor screen • Imagined realities • psychological impact!

31. Virtual reality displays