Cover not available
Article published In:
Information Design Journal
Vol. 27:2 (2022) ► pp.191–212

Effective colors for information design

A color-coding study of China’s high-speed railway map

ORCID logo | University of Leeds
ORCID logo | University of Leeds
ORCID logo | University of Leeds
This study evaluated the effectiveness of China’s high-speed railway map’s color system based on color design principles in information design. Various design limitations of the color system were identified and analyzed. A new color system which enhanced the legibility of the map was re-coded and was considered satisfactory in the usability test. The research explores the effect of colors in map design and provides valuable color-coding guidance, which may be applied to map design and to the design of other information materials. The color evaluation, re-coding and usability test methods may bring practical insights for information designers and color design researchers.
Keywords: information design, color, legibility, map design
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Color design principles and color theories for map design
  • 3.Evaluation of the color system of China’s current high-speed railway map
    • 3.1Are the colors following map color-design principles?
    • 3.2Are the colors harmonious?
  • 4.Reconstruction of the color system of China’s high-speed railway map
  • 5.Usability test
    • 5.1Participants
    • 5.2Test environment, procedure, and materials
    • 5.3Test settings
  • 6.Results and analysis
    • 6.1Comparison of reading speeds between existing and new color system
    • 6.2Comparison of information-searching accuracies between existing and new color systems
  • 7.Discussion
    • 7.1The effect of colors on a transit map’s usability
    • 7.2Evaluation of the existing and redesigned color systems
    • 7.3Color coding for transit-maps
  • 8.Conclusions
  • References
Published online: 2 January 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.21002.wan
References (37)
References
Bertin, J. 1981. Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams, Networks, Maps. Redlands CA: ESRI Press.Google Scholar
Borland, D. & Taylor, R. (2007). Rainbow Color Map (Still) Considered Harmful. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 27 (2), 14–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brewer, C. A. (1994). In Visualization in Modem Cartography. A. M. MacEachren & D. R. F. Taylor (Ed.), Color Use Guidelines for Mapping and Visualization (123–47). Elsevier.Google Scholar
Brewer, C. A., Hatchard, G., & Harrower, M. (2003). ColorBrewer in Print: A Catalog of Color Schemes for Maps. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 30 (1), 5–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brychtova, A. & Coltekin, A. (2015). Discriminating classes of sequential and qualitative colour schemes. International Journal of Cartography, 1(1), pp. 62–78. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). An Empirical User Study for Measuring the Influence of Color Distance and Font Size in Map Reading Using Eye Tracking. The Cartographic Journal, 53 (3), 202–212. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Burch, M. (2018). Which symbols, features, and regions are visually attended in metro maps? Intelligent Decision Technologies of SIST, 7 (3), 237–246. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cynthia Brewer, Mark Harrower, Ben Sheesley, Andy Woodruff, David Heyman. (2020). ColorBrewer 2.0 (online map color-coding tool), available at: [URL]
Dent, B. D., Torguson, J. S. & Hodler, T. (2009). Cartography: Thematic Map Design. 6th ed. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Publishers.Google Scholar
Fang, H., Walton, S., Delahaye, E., Harris, J., Storchak, D., & Chen, M. (2017). Categorical Colormap Optimization with Visualization Case Studies. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 23 (1), 871–880. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Feisner, E. (2006). Color. Laurence King.Google Scholar
Goldstein, S. P. (1965). Methods of improved subway information. NYCTA.Google Scholar
Granville, W. (1987). Color harmony: What is it? Color Research & Application, 12 (4), 196–201. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harrower, M. & Brewer, C. (2003). ColorBrewer.org: An Online Tool for Selecting Color Schemes for Maps. The Cartographic Journal, 40 (1), 27–37. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hartley, J. (2007). Underlining can make a difference-sometimes. Journal of Educational Research, 731, pp. 218–223. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Healey, C. G. (1996). Choosing Effective Colors for Data Visualization, IEEE Visualization, 263–270.Google Scholar
Hess, R. (2000). Can color-blind users see your site? Microsoft MSDN Library. [URL]
Holtzschue, L. (2017). Understanding Color. Wiley.Google Scholar
Horton, W. (1994). The Icon Book. Wiley.Google Scholar
Ishihara, S. (2018). Ishihara’s tests for colour deficiency, 24 plates. KENEHARA Trading, INC.Google Scholar
Itten, J. & Birren, F. (1997). The Elements of Color. Wiley.Google Scholar
Judd, D. & Wyszecki, G. (1975). Color in Business, Science and Industry. Wiley.Google Scholar
Liu, X. & Lin, Y. (2009). The vivid color in the metro station figures identity of city. Computer-Aided Industrial Design Conceptual Design, 1682–1685.Google Scholar
Lloyd, P. B., Rodgers, P., & Roberts, M. J. (2018). Metro map color-coding: Effect on usability in route tracing. Diagrammatic Representation and Inference, 411–428. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McGranaghan, M. (1989). Ordering choropleth map symbols: The effect of background. The American Cartographer, 16 (4), 279–285. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Netzel, R., Ohlhausen, B., Kurzhals, K., Woods, R., Burch, M., & Weiskopf, D. (2016). User performance and reading strategies for metro maps: An eye tracking study. Spatial Cognition & Computation, 17 (1–2), 39–64. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
[URL]. (2020). Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China. [URL]
Ou, L. (2016). A Comparison Between Color Preference and Color Harmony. DRS2016. [URL]
Pugliesi, E. & Decanini, M. (2012). Cartographic Design of In-Car Route Guidance for Color-Blind Users. Icaci. [URL]
Roberts, M. J. (2012). Underground Maps Unravelled: Explorations in Information Design. Self published, Wivenhoe, Essex.Google Scholar
Stigmar, H. (2010). Making 21st Century Maps Legible – Methods for Measuring and Improving the Legibility and Usability of Real-Time Maps. Lund.Google Scholar
Tian, T. (2021). Effective visual instructions for Chinese characters learning: The specific case of learning Chinese semantic radicals by non-specialist beginners – White Rose eTheses Online. [online] [URL]. Available at: <[URL]> [Accessed 23 December 2021].
Wang, Z., Lonsdale, M. D. S., & Cheung, V. (2021). An eye-tracking study examining information search in transit maps: Using China’s high-speed railway map as a case study. In press for Information Design Journal. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ware, C. (2004). Information Visualization: Perception for Design. Morgan Kaufmann.Google Scholar
Westland, S., Laycock, K., Cheung, V., Henry, P., & Mahyar, F. (2012). Color harmony. Color: Design & Creativity, 1(1), 1–15.Google Scholar
Wong, W. (1986). Principles of Color-design. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.Google Scholar
Wu, H., Niedermann, B., Takahashi, S., Roberts, M., Nöllenburg, M. (2020). A Survey on Transit Map Layout – from Design, Machine, and Human Perspectives. Computer Graphics Forum, 39(3), 619–646. DOI logoGoogle Scholar