The Importance of Colour

From the age of 40 onwards the efficiency of the eye starts to decrease, objects become slightly more blurred and although bigger items are still easy to see - finer detail may start to become a problem. Contrast is also effected - as we age our sensitivity to different colours also decreases. Below is a chart that shows a trend of how our eye sight changes with age.
This is important to note as our group will be designing an interface for the elderly, thus we need to somehow limit this issue by adhering to the following rules:

• Make use of lightness differences between a foreground and a background. For example:

• Follow the colour wheel and mix colours from the top half with the bottom half for decent results (for best results avoid mixing dark colours from the top half with the lighter colours in the bottom half of the wheel).

• Finally for better results for people with impaired vision, it is useful to try not to mix colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel. Opposites seem to work well, where as colours adjacent from each other don't seem to stand out as well.

Good Example:
Bad Example:


On a final note, I think it is important to mention the other side to using colours. Although the yellow and blue flag was a good example, I would not think it a sensible colour scheme to use in our project as it could just look visually displeasing.

For more information please look at the following links:

How old age affects eyesight -
http://www.everyeye.co.uk/htms/oldAgeVision.htm

Contrasting Colours and the Visually Impaired:
http://www.lighthouse.org/color_contrast.htm