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Color Coding of Control Room Displays: The Psychocartography of Visual

Layering Effects

Article in Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · July 2007
DOI: 10.1518/001872007X200111 · Source: PubMed

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 Displays 22 (2001) 125±135
www.elsevier.nl/locate/displa

Psychological and cartographic principles for the production of visual

layering effects in computer displays
D.L. Van Laar*
Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry 1 Street, Portsmouth P01 2ER, UK
Received 24 August 2000; revised 1 December 2000; accepted 9 December 2000

Abstract
A method is reported which enables designers to colour code computer displayed information into a perceptual hierarchy in much the same
way as visual layering effects are achieved in cartography. Principles of colour perception and cartography are used to derive palettes of
colours. The colours within these palettes are used to code screen based information such that elements of the display most relevant to the
user's task appear more conspicuous and nearer than less task relevant information. The application of this method to a typical control room
display is described and illustrated. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Cartography; Colour coding; Colour perception; Human factors; Visual layers

1. Introduction conspicuous than, less task important information such as

Maps are one of the most successful and most widely
utilised forms of graphical communication. The colour
coding conventions employed within current day map
making can be dated back centuries yet are familiar to
most people who have ever used a road map [1,2]. Although
conceptually similar, the use of colour within computer
displays has only just begun to be standardised in the
same way [3], with the result that many examples of poor
colour use still exist [4,5]. The work of Reynolds [6] in air
traf®c control displays provides a link between cartographic
principles and map-like computer displays. The present
paper seeks to extend the logic of this approach to show
how the widely used cartographic convention of visual
layering may be employed in of®ce and process control
type displays.
One of the most effective methods for communicating
information in maps is through the use of visual layers or
levels whereby the map viewer can, according to MacEach-
ren [7], ª¼ group sets of objects into common wholes that
are seen as occupying different visual (or conceptual)
planes.º Described ®rst by Robinson [8], most modern
maps now employ colour based visual layering techniques
to make more task relevant information such as major roads
or motorways appear to be lying above, or to be more
* Tel.: 144-23-9284-8484; fax: 144-23-9284-6300.
E-mail address: darren.van.laar@port.ac.uk (D.L. Van Laar).
0141-9382/01/$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0141- 938 2( 01) 00059-2
minor roads or contours.
Both computer displays and maps seek to provide task
relevant information to the user in the most effective way
possible. As both are types of information display it should
be possible to use design principles derived for one form of
display with the other. Thus, visual layering effects should
be able to be used in non-map computer displays to facilitate
visual segmentation of the display, to provide cues to the
identity and interpretation of screen-based elements, and to
give emphasis to task relevant information.
It has already been shown in cartography that visual
layering effects may be generated through colour codes by
following principles of colour science and colour perception
[9,10]. In addition to being useful for generating layering
effects, colour appears to be amongst the most ¯exible and
effective of all of the coding dimensions available to the
designer of computer displays, especially when the task to
be supported is concerned with searching or locating infor-
mation [11,12].
The motivation for the present work arose from the need
of the UK Nuclear Industry to develop new sets of control
room displays or `formats'. The aim of this work was to
develop a set of colour coding principles that would allow
task related information to be communicated through a set
of perceptually distinct visual layers. This paper describes a
set of colour codes derived from such principles and
provides an example of how they might be applied to a
typical control room display.
126 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135

1.1. Designing colour codes for visual layers

When designing a map, a cartographer will usually start

with the information to be communicated (such as road type,
land use, contours) and depending on the task (navigating by
aircraft, driving along a motorway, deciding where to site a
factory) will then decide how to portray, emphasise or
format the information elements [13]. In non-map displays,
the principle is the same, to be effective an analysis of the
task must precede the design [14].
Visual layers are employed in cartography to communi-
cate the conceptual or task organisation of a map. Robinson
et al. [10] describe three ways in which visual layers are
used to communicate such information. Stereogrammic
layers direct attention to the most important informational
layer or layers through ®gure-ground effects; extensional
layering effects represent quantitative relationships between
layers, and subdivisional effects are used to communicate
relationships within a layer.
To produce effective visual layers within a general
computer display, elements within the display should ®rst
be analysed and then ranked according to their importance
in the task supported by the display. Elements that are
ranked at the same level are grouped together into the Fig. 1. Three-dimensional nature of colour space, illustrating hue, satura-
same conceptual layer and assigned colour codes based on tion and lightness.
their perceptual layering effect. In this way items within
layers may appear related (subdivisional effects), but still discriminate between colour codes on a display to avoid
be distinct from those on other layers (stereogrammic and confusion and ambiguity. Although colour sets exist
extensional effects). Differently ranked elements will appear which have been selected with discriminability in mind
on separate visual or perceptual planes, and may be colour [16,17], it is possible to determine the approximate discri-
coded in such a way as to help relate, or increase, the minability of any two colours by calculating their colour
distinction between elements on separate layers. difference in units of DE (actually DEuv p
†: Colours which
are 1 or 2 DE units apart will be just discriminable from
1.2. Physical properties of colour each other, those 10 units apart will usually be discriminable
from one another, and at 40 units apart and above colours
Although not essential when applying visually layered should always be reliably discriminated [18].
colour codes to a display, an understanding of the physical
properties of colour is important when appreciating the 1.3. The palettes
principles upon which the colour codes have been selected.
A colour is usually described as a point in three dimen- Colour coding conventions for communicating layers in
sional space, where the three axes of the space are maps are widely available, but normally require substantial
commonly denoted as Hue (the quality of what is normally cartographic or graphic design training to implement [9,13].
termed colour, e.g. red, green, blue), Saturation (the Perhaps the most convenient method to produce visual
strength of a colour, from a muted to a strong or vibrant layering effects on computer displays for use by non-experts
version of the colour Ð known in cartography as tint) and is through the use of palettes of pre-prepared colours. Using
Lightness (similar to brightness, and varying from black principles derived through work for the Nuclear Industry a
through greys to white Ð known in cartography as shade). core set of three palettes, each containing seven colours, has
Hue is most often described as a point from 1 to 3608 been found suf®cient to generate visual layering effects for a
around the hue circle, and de®ned in colour science as wide range of complex control room displays. In addition to
degrees of huv. Saturation is de®ned in colour science in these three layering palettes, three supplementary palettes
units of suv, and lightness in units of L p. Fig. 1 depicts the have been developed to meet further coding requirements.
three dimensional nature of such a colour space (see Hunt The ®rst supplementary palette consists of eight highly satu-
[15] for details of the colour science behind colour rated, bright colours, which are used for alarms and screen
description systems and the three dimensional nature of elements which need to be very visible (e.g. the alarm
colour). threshold line on boiler temperature graphs). The second
It is important to be able to reliably distinguish or supplementary palette consists of eight colour codes
 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135
which have been developed for items which must be of a
speci®c or special colour (e.g. conventional colour codes for
pipes carrying high pressure steam within a reactor). The
third supplementary palette consists of ®ve achromatic
colours which include the screen maximum black and
white, which are used for borders and text. Note that three
of the colours in the achromatic palette have the same light-
ness as the layering palettes. Appendix A describes all 42
colours in terms of their hue angle, saturation and lightness
and the RGB values required to produce these colours on a
typical computer display. Appendix B provides a visual
impression of these same colours (except for black and
white). For more information on generating required colours
on computer displays, see the recent review of calibration
techniques by Post and Calhoun [19].
2. Ten principles for colour coding visually layered
displays
Based on the experience of designing visually layered
formats for nuclear power station displays ten principles
for colour coding such displays have been developed.
These principles have been designed to produce palettes
of colours that allow visual layering effects to be easily
generated, as well as giving rise to displays that would be
uncluttered and aesthetically pleasing. Note that these prin-
ciples have been designed to be applied to existing displays
or formats and presume that such formats already have a
clear structure, employ careful use of white space and serve
the tasks for which they have been produced [3].
1. All colours within a layer must have the same or a very
similar level of lightness. As lightness differences are
the major method of indicating the depth of a visual
layer [10], lightness similarity is the main method
used to indicate same-layer colour codes.
2. All colours within a layer should have the same satura-
tion level. Saturation of colour codes can be used in a
similar way to lightness to indicate depth of visual
layers. Wood [9] notes that with increasing distance
objects in the real world become less saturated, and
recommends that objects on less important visual layers
should be less saturated.
3. There must be suf®cient difference in lightness and
saturation between layers for the layering effect to be
effective. Experience has shown that there should be a
colour difference of at least 10 DE units between layers
for the colours to be discriminated in most
circumstances.
4. There must be suf®cient brightness contrast between
texts and backgrounds to ensure legibility. Lippert
[20] has shown that text legibility on displays is mainly
due to brightness contrast, with hue and saturation
contrast only having a small effect on reading perfor-
mance. If legibility of text is very important then there
127
should be a Lightness difference of at least 20 L p units
between text and background.
5. Unless colours have to be highly distinguishable, keep
colour codes unsaturated and subtle. Keates [13] recom-
mends that codes within a map (including colour codes)
should have the minimum degree of contrast needed to
make the information elements legible or perceptually
distinct. This recommendation is based on the need to
avoid visual clutter and to allow a suitable degree of
relative emphasis for very important codes. Medium or
large areas of highly saturated reds or blues should be
especially avoided as these can give rise to colour
stereopsis, ¯utter and other distracting phenomena [21].
6. There must be a suf®cient hue difference between the
colour codes used within each layer to enable separate
colour regions or task areas of the same informational
rank to be coded. Experience has shown that colours
within a layer should have a difference of at least 10
DE units between them. A good method for ensuring
high discriminability of hues is to ensure they are
equally spaced around the hue circle (i.e. a palette of
6 hues could be chosen by selecting hues lying 608 from
each other).
7. It is a good idea to maintain the same hues between
layering palettes, so that relationships and similarities
may be indicated across conceptual layers. In this way,
elements of differing task importance, but relevant to
the same task area or task group can be communicated.
8. It is good design practice to nominate one layer as the
focal layer and have the other layers appear as back-
grounds (for less important information) or highlights
(for very important information) to this. A focal layer is
important for ease of conceptualising the display
design.
9. Keep the number of colours within a layer to the
minimum necessary to communicate the task
effectively. There is no need to use a different colour
for every task area when colours are merely used to
discriminate between task areas within the same
conceptual layer within a display. Instead, the total
number of hues on a display should be kept to a mini-
mum by alternating between two or three colours, thus
reducing visual clutter. For example, a table with 16
rows might cluster rows in groups of four and code
the resultant groups in green, orange, green, orange
(but see Foster and Bruce [4] for possible problems
when coding columns of data). When there is no colour
convention to follow, hues may be based on the
designer's aesthetic judgement or chosen at random.
10. Ensure most people can see codes in most environ-
ments. Once a candidate set of colour codes have
been produced they should be checked for perceptual
discriminability under typical illuminants [22], as well
as for potential problems of confusion that may be
experienced by people with colour vision dif®culties
[23].
128 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135

Fig. 2. Typical power station mimic display showing schematic representations of pipes, valves, four boilers (B13 to B16), the D/A, SUV and Condenser.

3. Mimic display example room. Although there will be hundreds of such displays that
may be called up to aid the operator's task, this boiler feed
In order to demonstrate the utility of the principles above, format would be viewed relatively often as it provides an
this section will show how to analyse and apply the palette overview of many major systems within the plant. The
colour codes to an example display. Fig. 2 is a typical mimic boiler feed format shows, or mimics, the major connections
display as might be used in a nuclear power station control between four of the boilers within the plant (B13±B16) and
three of the major plant subsystems (the D/A, the SUV and
Table 1 the Condenser). The bow-tie like screen elements represent
Analysis and ranking of information groups and visual layers for mimic valves situated along pipes.
display example
After consultation with domain experts the individual
Informational groups Rank/Layer Justi®cation elements within the display were grouped according to the
assigned information they contained and then ranked according to
their task relevance. Table 1 shows brief justi®cations for
Borders and 1 Base layer, screen boundary
background elements providers, area washes and related the rankings of each information group.
text Table 2 shows the relationship between the information
Task area blocks and 2 Demarcates lower level grouping grouped within the conceptual layers, and how they are to be
mimic structures information coded using the colour palettes. Note that to maintain
Static reference text 3 Mostly labels, which need to be
consistency, once a palette has been allocated to a particular
seen as lying on top of Layer 2
task areas but on a lower level than information group within a layer it is not used to code
dynamic information information in other layers (see colour coding principle 3
Dynamic data 4 Frequently updated task relevant (P3)).
information In general, palettes are applied in the order 3 to 1, with the
Alarm signals 5 Infrequent but highly important
lightest Palette (3) being applied to lower layers, the darkest
information
Palette (1) to higher or more important layers (See P1, P2, P3).
 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135 129

Table 2
Summary of information groups and palettes used to produce visual layer effects

Task layer Information groups Palette/Colour used

[1] Background Backgrounds Achromatic Background White

Borders and Page titles Palette 2 level grey
Low level washes Palette 3
[2] Low level info Blocked task areas such as boilers or tables Palette 2
Conventional colours Special red, blue and purple
[3] Reference text Static reference text and area or table titles Palette 1 level grey
[4] (Focal layer) Dynamic info Dynamic text Black
Dynamic graphics Palette 1
Graph trace colours Saturated Palette
[5] Alarms Alarms Saturated Palette

Although MacEachren [7] argues for the case of attempt-
ing to generate a continuous visual hierarchy within maps
with no limit to the number of layers that can be employed,
he cites Spiess [24] as proposing that no more than three,
and Wood [9] that no more than four visual layers
should be should be employed within a map. The
palettes and use of achromatic textual codes (as
speci®ed in Appendix A) allow for up to ®ve layers
to be created within displays as complex as the mimic
example shown in Fig. 2 (P3, P4). Note that only a
small number of the colours contained in Appendix A
were used to code the example display.
4. Colour allocation
As described in Table 1, backgrounds and borders are
assigned to the lowest task level. Visual Layer 1 therefore
contains the white background, and the screen borders and
titles which are coded in a grey of the same lightness as

Fig. 3. Mimic display example showing Layer 1 containing background, borders and washes.
130 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135
Fig. 4. Mimic display example showing adding of Layer 2 mimic and grouping objects.
Palette 2. On the example mimic format it has been decided
to colour code the background layer into task areas (i.e.
subdivisions) to aid interpretation of the different regions
of the screen as different areas of the plant (P6, P7). The
colours applied to these large areas are called washes and
are chosen from Palette 3 as they appear relatively unsatu-
rated and subtle on this lowest layer (P1, P2, P5). As there
are no colour conventions to be applied, the hues of the three
wash areas can be based on the designer's aesthetic judge-
ment or chosen at random (P9). Fig. 3 shows the colour
coding of conceptual Layer 1, with background, borders
and green, tan and purple washes (approximate hue names).
Objects within a display are often required to be seen as
sitting on a higher conceptual layer than the backgrounds,
yet lower than more task relevant items. These objects may
be tables, graphs, representations of real world objects (such
as a boiler or a pipe), or other some information grouping
device. In the example format these objects have been coded
using colours from Palette 2 and lie on Layer 2. Fig. 4,
illustrates the addition of Layer 2 information and shows
how the boiler, condenser and D/A areas have been coded in
the same hue as their background area washes to enhance
their appearance and give the impression of related informa-
tion with the same task area (P3, P6, P7, P9).
Colour coding conventions must be followed in many
displays to communicate speci®c types of information.
Layer 2 contains two such special or conventional colour
codes in that hot water pipes need to be coded red, (Spred in
Appendix A) and cold water pipes coded blue (Spblue). The
hue of these codes may need to be speci®ed exactly but the
lightness and, wherever possible, the saturation should be
kept consistent with the palette used to code the layer on
which the information is to be applied in order to maintain
the layering effect (P1, P2, P3). Colour codes applied to
layers without controlling lightness and saturation
properties can seriously disturb the perception of separate
visual layers. Note in this case, to conform to the colour
conventions, the Special red and blue colours have the
same lightness, but are more saturated than other colours
on Layer 2.
Text on most control room displays can be divided into
three types: static, dynamic, and alarm text. Static text is
used for labels or other passive indicators, such as the units
the screen inputs are measured in, which change very rarely
if at all. Static text must therefore be included in the display,
it must be legible above the background or information
grouping devices but does not need to be as legible or as
conspicuous as the more important dynamic values (P1, P4,
 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135
Fig. 5. Mimic display example showing adding of Layer 3 static text items.
P5). Fig. 5 shows the addition of Level 3 static text to the
display, which is coded in a Palette 1 level grey.
In most displays dynamic text is the most important type
of information other than alarms. For this reason the layer
upon which dynamic text is viewed, Layer 4, is known as
the focal layer. For most displays the dynamic text should be
black, thus giving maximum contrast with the background,
and insuring maximum legibility and conspicuity (P4, P8).
The addition of the dynamic text is shown on Layer 4 in
Fig. 6.
Alarm text or alarm indicators have been designed to be
very conspicuous, and thus appear to be on the highest
visual or conceptual layer. Fig. 6 shows an example of an
alarm block, colour coded in a highly saturated red. To
ensure maximum conspicuity of the highly saturated alarm
codes, unsaturated almost pastel colours have been
employed within the layering palettes (P3, P5). Using
relatively unsaturated colours for the layering palettes
also has the advantage of being a more subtle and
less attention grabbing coding method than is often
employed in computer displays, thus leading to less
garish and more aesthetically pleasing displays [6].
The highly saturated palette may also be used to help
with discrimination when very small areas of colour
131
coding need to be employed, such as in lines on a
graph or trace plot [13].
Fig. 6 shows the ®nal colour coded, visually layered
computer display. The most important and conspicuous
item on the display is the red alarm block (Layer 5). The
user should be able to easily focus on, and segment the task
relevant dynamic text in Layer 4 from the rest of the display.
The reference text on Layer 3 should still be legible, but
seen as de-emphasised and on a lower visual plane when
compared to the dynamic text. The pipes and mimic objects
in Layer 2 should be seen on a lower layer than the refer-
ence, dynamic and alarm values, but on a higher level than
the Layer 1 background and washes.
5. Discussion
This paper has described a number of principles to be
used when designing visually layered general computer
displays, and has provided an example of applying such
principles when colour coding a typical process control
display.
Although the method presented for producing visual
layers in displays appears to be of general use, it may be
132 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135
Fig. 6. Mimic display example showing adding of Layer 4 dynamic information and a Layer 5 alarm item.
that low interaction screen displays or formats such as
process control or emergency control room applications
would be especially enhanced. Note that some applications
may be high interaction at one time, such as when develop-
ing a spreadsheet based costing program, and low inter-
action at other times, such as when consulting information
on a spreadsheet based costing program. Here, colour
coding might only be applied after the display had been
developed in all other respects.
Although the methodology presented will produce
visually layered, task relevant colour codes for non-map
computer displays, a number of factors including colour
contrast effects and colour nameability still remain to be
resolved.
Whenever two or more colours are seen together,
complex colour contrast effects will in¯uence perception
of the individual colours and of the scene as a whole
[15,21]. However, because of the low saturation of the
layering colours chosen with this method, these effects are
unlikely to exert a very strong in¯uence.
The seven hues de®ned for the example were chosen to be
as far apart from one another in colour space as was
possible. Paradoxically, because of colour categorisation
effects physical separation in colour science terms may
not always be the same as perceptual separation [25]. Colour
categorisation has been investigated by research into colour
naming, where it has been found that some colours are
physically similar, but perceptually distinct (e.g. yellow
and orange), and others relatively physically distinct, but
perceptually similar (e.g. red±purple and blue±purple). It
may be that future methods could select hues based on the
categorical difference or `Nameability' of colours [26],
rather than their physical differences.
As part of the work for the Nuclear Industry, these
colour coding principles have been encapsulated within
a software program. To derive palettes for visually
layering the display designer merely sets the starting
hue angles. The software then produces the palettes to
be used based on perceptual principles, and the designer
then utilises the application principles to assign the
colour codes to the screen elements.
A recent study within our laboratory has shown when
using a visually layered format of the type shown in Fig.
6, that the time taken to search for task relevant information
is signi®cantly faster than for a monochrome and a non-
layered highly discriminable colour coded version of the
 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135 133

same format. Although the number of errors committed did not
differ between coding methods in this study, participants
clearly preferred the visual layering coded format to the
other two. This work is currently being prepared for publica-
tion [27]. Further work employing other types of formats and
more complex tasks is currently being undertaken to develop
and ®ne-tune the task analysis and colour coding methods.
Acknowledgements
The work described here was funded by the Industry
Management Committee as part of the UK Nuclear Safety
Research Programme. Thanks are extended for project
support and comments to Ian Umbers and Steve Smeaton
of British Energy and to Terry Williams (research assistant).

Appendix A

Hue (huv), saturation (suv), lightness (L p) and typical monitor RGB values for an example set of palettes for creating colour
layering effects. Note that hues are equally spaced and thus labels are the nearest monoleximic colour name. Key: Blue1 ˆ
Palette 1 blue, Satblue ˆ Highly saturated blue, Spblue ˆ Special palette blue, na ˆ not applicable. Colour coordinates for
nominal white point: x ˆ 0:313; y ˆ 0:329; Y ˆ 124:0 Please note that hue names are only approximations.

Palette Colour name huv suv Lp R G B

Palette one Yellow1 89 0.437 60 151 148 110

Tan1 37 0.437 60 172 138 122
Red1 346 0.437 60 177 133 149
Purple1 295 0.437 60 164 137 170
Blue1 243 0.437 60 135 147 172
Turquoise1 192 0.437 60 113 155 153
Green1 140 0.437 60 124 155 126
Palette two Yellow2 89 0.38 80 202 202 158
Tan2 37 0.38 80 227 191 171
Red2 346 0.38 80 234 184 203
Purple2 295 0.38 80 217 188 229
Blue2 243 0.38 80 184 201 231
Turquoise2 192 0.38 80 161 210 208
Green2 140 0.38 80 172 210 176
Palette three Yellow3 89 0.133 95 242 243 224
Tan3 37 0.133 95 253 238 230
Red3 346 0.133 95 255 235 243
Purple3 295 0.133 95 248 237 254
Blue3 243 0.133 95 235 242 255
Turquoise3 192 0.133 95 227 246 245
Green3 140 0.133 95 230 246 232
Highly saturated palette Satred 13 3.156 57 255 0 0
Satgreen 132 1.563 86 0 255 0
Satblue 265 4.036 33 0 0 255
Satyellow 85 1.044 97 255 255 0
Satcyan 193 0.883 90 0 255 255
Satmag 312 2.122 63 255 0 255
Satorange 28 1.823 69 255 129 0
Satlime 105 1.132 91 200 250 20

Special palette Spred 15 0.608 80 248 179 175

Spblue 251 0.608 80 181 199 253
Spkgrey 142 0.06 80 198 201 194
Sppurple 301 0.567 80 230 181 241
Spgreen 127 1.337 80 104 229 58
Sporange 49 1.162 80 254 182 63
Spkhaki 140 0.489 80 163 213 169
Spolive 152 0.949 80 77 227 160
Achromatic palette Black na 0.0 0 0 0 0
Pal1gy na 0.0 60 151 145 144
Pal2gy na 0.0 80 202 199 198
Pal3gy na 0.0 95 242 241 241
White na 0.0 100 255 255 255
134 D.L. Van Laar / Displays 22 (2001) 125±135
Fig. 7.
Appendix B
Visual impression of colour palettes (three layered, one
saturated, one special). Note that due to problems reprodu-
cing screen based colours in print these colours will only be
approximate versions of those speci®ed in Appendix A (Fig.
7).
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