Research Posters and Poster Sessions: Colors
Colors for the Web
RGB color model stands for Red Green Blue. It is an additive color model. They are the primary colors of light and can be added together to reproduce 216 colors suitable for the internet. See Wikipedia for additional information. RGB colors and CYMK colors do not match.
Colors for Printing
The CMYK color model stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. It is a subtractive color model. CYMK is used in printing. See Wikipedia for additional information. RGB colors and CYMK colors do not match.
Color Blindness
Not everyone can see all colors of the rainbow. Check out the article by Alex Wade, Can you tell red from green?
Vischeck is an online tool for visualizing an image from the perspective of someone who is color blind.
Daltonize is an online tool to determine if your images and posters are suitable for folks who are color blind.
General considerations:
Do not use shades of the same color or similar colors. Use contrasting colors.
The most common colors affected are red and green. If there is red and green in your poster increase the contrast between the two or choose other colors..
Color Oracle is a downloadable open source tool to check for colors related to color blindness. Two articles addressing color blindness and graphics are listed - Designing Maps for the Color-Vision Impaired and Color Design for the Color Vision Impaired.
Selecting Colors
How to select a great colour scheme for your scientific poster.
This article discusses problems to watch out for, color terminology, how many colors are too much, how to find a good color palette, and the Adobe Color Wheel.
Using text & color to create hierarchy in your scientific poster.
This article describes how to select typeface and color to bring out the important points of your research.
