Color-Name Boundaries for Color Coding

One of the main problems that arises when designing color codes for electronic visual displays involves color selection. The colors must be distinctive and immediately recognizable as corresponding with the color names they represent. Otherwise, their meanings may be ambiguous, thereby defeating the code's purpose. We are approaching this problem by mapping the relationship between location on the CIE 1976 uniform chromaticity-scale (UCS) diagram and population stereotypes for color naming. This information should simplify the color selection process by helping the designer avoid, for example, specifying a "red" that actually appears orange. Thus, our project can be characterized as an attempt to improve on the Kelly (1943) color boundaries and is similar with an earlier effort by Haeusing (1976). It is also related to Boynton and Olson's (1987) work on focal colors. This paper describes our method, provides an overview of six experiments we have performed, and shows some representative results.