Here's the secret to using color-blindness simulators effectively.
And, I'm going to share how I use my favorites, as well as where to get them.
Color-blindness Simulators are critical tools for color design, understanding what color-blindness looks like, and building empathy for color-blind persons. But, how accurate are they? I performed a quick comparison between three of my favorites and found some meaningful variation, but not so much as to render them useless. In fact, far from it.
The key to success when using simulators, is to not rely heavily for signal to come from colors that have uncertainty regarding our ability to simulate them accurately. Here is a simulation accuracy rating that we could use:
Yellow: high accuracy
Blue: high accuracy
Cyan: medium accuracy
Red: medium accuracy
Green: low accuracy
Magenta: low accuracy
Why do I use three different simulators, you may ask. Let me explain:
I use Photoshop when I am, well, working in Photoshop, which is very, very often. There is a simple toggle built-in that can be found here: View > Proof Setup > Color Blindness menu. Illustrator also has this capability.
I use Color Oracle when I'm working in graphics software that does not have built-in simulation. Which, is most software outside of Adobe. It's a native app and can be quickly toggled on and off from an always-visible toolbar.
I use Silktide when I'm developing a website. It has some additional simulation features built-in, such as dyslexia, cataracts, and tunnel vision, as well as a simple screen-reader.
You can learn more about them and find links to their websites on the I-See-U.info website > Color Tools sections (external link).
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