ColorADD

File:ColorAdd sign code.png

The code is based on five base signs: two triangles (one angled upwards and the other angled downwards), one diagonal line, one solid square box and one empty square box representing black, white and the primary colors: red (magenta), blue (cyan), and yellow. Colors derived from other colors have the symbols of the combined colors, creating derivative colors (orange, green, purple and brown) and dark or white tones. Metalized colors like silver or gold are shown with a left parenthesis on the symbols.

File:Coloradd traffic light.PNG

Since its creation, ColorADD has been applied in various services, mainly in Portugal:

• Hospitals: on patient wristbands, pill bottles and path lines{{cite web|url=http://www.coloradd.net/health.asp|title=Health & hospitals|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922053642/http://www.coloradd.net/health.asp|url-status=dead}}
• Schools: Viarco coloring pencils[http://www.viarco.pt/produtos_officeescolar_coloradd.php Viarco official website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312004057/http://www.viarco.pt/produtos_officeescolar_coloradd.php |date=2013-03-12}}{{cite web|url=http://www.coloradd.net/education.asp|title=Education|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922060720/http://www.coloradd.net/education.asp|archive-date=22 September 2021|url-status=dead}} and students' note books
• Transports: subway maps,{{cite web|url=http://www.coloradd.net/transports.asp|title=Transport|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922052547/http://www.coloradd.net/transports.asp}}{{cite web|url=http://www.metrodoporto.pt/PageGen.aspx?WMCM_PaginaId=16779¬iciaId=24662&pastaNoticiasReqId=15502|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025193050/http://www.metrodoporto.pt/PageGen.aspx?WMCM_PaginaId=16779¬iciaId=24662&pastaNoticiasReqId=15502|archive-date=25 October 2013|title=ColorAdd no Metro|publisher=Metro do Porto}} traffic lights and parking lots
• Accessibility: paint cans, groceries, postage services, energy monitoring{{cite web|url=http://www.cloogy.com/en/media-room/coloradd_technology_cloogy/|title=Cloogy is the first technological equipment to integrate ColorADD|date=February 27, 2013}}

It was also recognised by Buenos Aires University and TEDx Porto.

In September 2017, Mattel launched a colorblind-friendly version of Uno that utilizes ColorADD.{{cite web|url=https://www.fastcodesign.com/90139017/after-46-years-mattel-redesigned-uno-for-colorblind-people|title=After 46 Years, Mattel Redesigned Uno For Color-Blind People|date=September 6, 2017}}

This system is copyrighted; it is not in the public domain, nor is it free licensed. Usage must be licensed by the for-profit private company Miguel Neiva & Associados - design gráfico, Lda.{{cite web |url=http://www.coloradd.net |title=ColourADD |access-date=2022-05-11}} and fees are not public. According to ColorADD "license fee is adjusted to the partner's profile". There is a pro bono model only for schools and universities managed by the nonprofit NGO ColorADD.Social.{{citation |url=https://www.changemakers.com/makingmorehealth/entries/coloradd-color-identification-system |title=ColorADD, Color Identification System: Co-Creating a more Colorful World for Colorblinds |author=Neiva, Miguel| publisher=changemakers.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421083126/https://www.changemakers.com/makingmorehealth/entries/coloradd-color-identification-system |archive-date=2021-04-21 |access-date=2022-05-11 }}

One of the main criticisms of the ColorADD system is that some of the color symbols can be confused if they are inverted, similar to how the Arabic numerals 6 and 9 are mirror images of each other.{{cite av_media|via=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_HJavHqCHY|first=Curran|last=Eggertson|title=Deconstructing ColorADD|date=24 May 2024|archive-date=6 September 2024|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/b_HJavHqCHY|url-status=live}} For example, the symbols for red and blue both use the same triangle oriented in a different direction, and the symbols for green and orange are mirror images of each other.

In some uses, this problem has been addressed by adding a baseline to indicate the bottom of the symbol, in a similar manner to how the six and nine Arabic numerals can be clarified. This adds noise to the design and can slow down the identification of some ColorADD symbols. While Arabic numerals came into existence centuries ago, the much more recent ColorADD system could have been designed with this in mind.

In many cases, colors are used as a code for something else. In these cases, the choice of color is often arbitrary. The use of color symbols can add an unnecessary layer of indirection and other more direct symbols are better choices.

For instance, the colors assigned to lines on a transport map are arbitrary. As well as a color, they are often assigned a letter or number. Instead of repeating the ColorADD symbols, it would be preferable to repeat the letter or number throughout the map or to choose a colorblind-friendly palette. Another example is the color coding of [waste sorting] bins. In this instance, symbols representing what can be put in each bin would be more useful.

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140327203240/http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ml421/reading/DesigningWithData_single.pdf A Practical Guide to Designing with Data by Brian Suda. 2010. Five Simple Steps.], pages 61–62
• [https://www.yahoo.com/gma/portuguese-designer-becomes-hero-colourblind-210728337.html Portuguese designer becomes "hero" for the colourblind. 21 Mar 2012, Agence France-Presse]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141006125726/http://www.makingmorehealth.org//MMH_Activities/miguel_neiva.html Making More Health, Miguel Neiva]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140528032203/http://plusdesign.icograda.org/solution.php?projectID=10 icograda: International Council of Graphic Design Associations description] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20140528031620/http://www.icograda.org/feature/current/articles1681.htm Reinventing the Color Wheel. icograda International Council of Communication Design]
• [http://zeroproject.org/practice/colour-identification-system-for-the-colourblind/ Zero project, Innovative Practices 2014 on Accessibility: Colour identification system for the colourblind]

{{commonscat}}

• {{Official website|https://www.coloradd.net}}

Category:Assistive technology

Category:Augmentative and alternative communication

Category:Portuguese inventions

Category:Visual disturbances and blindness